Executive engineer Pat Symonds admits they had teething but totally unrelated problems during FP1 and FP2 especially on Checo Perez’s car. “One of which was in the fuel system, which we had to take the energy store out to get at it, so we were very late going out. Then we went out and unfortunately had a hydraulic leak.” he said. According to his words, Valtteri Bottas, on the other hand, had pretty good day to learn more about the car and tires. “We did the work we needed to do and got the answers we needed to get. We go into tomorrow with a lot more knowledge.” he added.

Valtteri Bottas, spending last year as a reserve driver for Mercedes, felt great being back on track. “We had some challenges with the car build, but without the curfew, the team made the most out of it.” he commented after Friday practice sessions. It wasn’t a trouble-free day from his point of view, but he has hope going into FP3 and qualification with lots of good data to learn from.

Despite the problems Perez had, it were really beneficial sessions for him, too: “While there are a lot of small details that we need to clean up, overall it was a big step for the team to get two cars out there, running, and building up the mileage.” he admitted. He doesn’t loose hope either, saying that he is certain the team will progress with the spirit and experience they have.

As the new season starts, Cadillac Formula 1 Team celebrates one year anniversary of receiving its entry into F1. Graeme Lowdon, Cadillac’s team principle, shows gratefulness and humility about what the team was able to achieve just in this short amount of time: “I am fortunate to have had a front-row seat to see just what's been achieved by everybody, and I'd like to thank not just everybody in the team, but everybody behind them; the family members and friends.”

He appreciates the team for their hard work they put into building the car that they are now able to race with against the best in the world.