Overview
- Both Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas retired within the opening laps at the Austrian Grand Prix when their brakes overheated and caught fire, ending the team’s race at the Red Bull Ring.
- Drivers called the result unacceptable, with Perez saying the weekend felt like a step backwards and Bottas warning that repeated DNFs prevent the team from learning from upgrades.
- Cadillac introduced a significant aerodynamic and brake-cooling package for the weekend but lost key practice and race mileage needed to validate those changes and assess performance gains.
- Team sources and drivers pointed to hot ambient temperatures and running in traffic as proximate triggers for the brake overheating, and an internal investigation and setup reviews are now under way.
- For a new operation in Formula 1, the double retirement compounds earlier reliability problems and increases pressure to deliver measurable fixes at Silverstone so the team can gather data and progress development.