Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas have returned to Formula 1 this year after each being forced to take a season out, leading the new Cadillac squad, but Mario Andretti believes the pair are “a little bit rusty.”
The American, Silverstone-based outfit is three races into its debut season after many years of trying to reach the F1 grid, via various guises, including under the Andretti name.
It’s been a steep and tough learning curve for the team, coming into the sport the same year the sport has begun its new and radical regulations cycle.
Bottas and Perez, who boast 533 Grand Prix starts between them, were the natural choices, given their experience to help the team work towards climbing the grid.
But whilst he feels that the pair are doing their utmost in that regard, the 1978 World Champion – and the man whose name bears the car’s chassis – thinks they are only just getting used to being back in the cockpit again.
The main thing that really interests me is, I want to hear from the drivers, and that’s really what it’s all about,” Andretti said.
“To be honest with you, I think they’re both just a little bit rusty. They’ve both been out of the cockpit for at least one season.
“With the new package and everything else, they’re being very careful, you know, just to participate, and not set anything back by maybe going out there and creating more work that’s needed.
“But the initial comments, clearly, I think we’re lacking some downforce, especially rear stability. That’s what I keep hearing from both of them and things like that.
“And the other side is to totally try to understand how to take advantage of the power unit for what the delivery is, between keeping the battery charge and all that sort of thing.
“But that’s not only the problem that we have. We’re not the only ones who have that issue.
“Outside of, say, Mercedes and Ferrari, it seem like everybody else is searching deeply how to really maximise their situation.”
Andretti ‘not envying’ Cadillac drivers for new F1 car balancing act
Many have suggested that the new regulations will see a lot of changes in fortunes for teams up and down the grid, as they begin to grasp more understanding of the rules.
For Andretti, it’s a world away from the driving he would have been used to, stating that he, perhaps for the first time, isn’t so jealous of the current crop.
“It’s going to be an interesting progress of the season, as to see who really puts their arms around it all,” he said.
“As a driver, I think, to be able to extract everything out of the chassis itself, now, all of a sudden, you’ve got to relearn how to use the throttle, how to use everything.
So I’m not sure I am envying the drivers at the moment. I’m almost happy that I’m on the sideline.”
For Cadillac, the learning curve continues and the forthcoming Miami Grand Prix will see whether work back at Silverstone during the enforced break has provided any new improvements.
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