2026 BARCELONA-CATALUNYA GRAND PRIX – QUALIFYING REPORT
June 13, 2026 – Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Spain – The Cadillac Formula 1® Team continued its preparations for the weekend with FP3, the final practice session before Qualifying. Checo finished the session in 19th after 21 laps. On the other side of the garage, Valtteri’s session was cut short due to an issue limiting him to 14 laps. The team identified the problem and took all necessary adjustments to ensure the car was fully prepared for Qualifying later in the day.
Checo qualified in P19 with a best lap of 1:17.545, narrowly ahead of Valtteri, who secured P20 with a 1:17.757.
The team’s focus shifts to tomorrow’s Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, scheduled at 3 p.m. local time. The race will provide another opportunity for both drivers to move forward and capitalize on the work completed throughout the weekend.
Checo Perez:
Qualified: P19 Q1: 1:17:545
“We focused on the race from the start of the weekend, so Qualifying was always going to involve some compromises. Even so, I think we maximized our potential today and ended up closer than we expected, which is encouraging. Tire strategy and tire degradation are likely to be crucial factors tomorrow, especially on a track like this, and we’ve worked hard to put ourselves in the best possible position. We’ve done everything we can to prepare for the race, and now it’s about making the most of every opportunity, executing well, and extracting the maximum from the package.”
Valtteri Bottas:
Qualified: P20 Q1: 1:17:757
“We had a positive Qualifying considering my FP3 was quite compromised. As a team, we were able to find and fix the issue I faced. I had to revert to some older parts due to the damage sustained in Free Practice, but I think we made the most out of it given the circumstances. Everyone in the garage did a great job getting the car ready in time. It seems like we’re closer to Williams than before and moving further ahead of Aston, but there’s still improvements to be made. Tomorrow’s race will be focused on managing tire degradation and overheating. It’s most likely at least two stops for people, so that can create opportunities."
Graeme Lowdon, Team Principal:
“We come away from today with another positive Qualifying under our belts at a more demanding circuit than what we’ve previously faced. Our gap to the midfield is getting progressively closer with Checo just over tenth behind one of the Williams, showing the efforts we’re going to as a team. Valtteri’s running was hindered in FP3 due to an issue that we were able to trace and rectify ahead of Qualifying. The team did a good job to turn his car around in time for the session. Looking ahead to tomorrow, we know the rising temperatures will be a factor for everyone with tire degradation playing a big part. We’ll see what the race brings and aim to capitalize on any opportunities that may present themselves.”