2026 BELGIAN GRAND PRIX — FREE PRACTICE REPORT
July 17, 2026 — Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium — The Cadillac Formula 1® Team made its debut at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps today as its preparations for the Belgian Grand Prix got underway.
Valtteri Bottas and Checo Perez completed two practice sessions, running through a program of tire evaluation, different fuel load analysis and energy management optimization over the rollercoaster 7.004km circuit that winds its ways through the hills and valleys of the Ardennes forest. Also on the agenda was evaluation of the new front wing endplate, which continued the American squad’s stream of development this season.
Valtteri closed the day in 19th position, with Checo 20th. Qualifying for the 44-lap race will get underway at 4.p.m local time tomorrow.
Checo Perez:
FP1: 19th, Laps: 22 (1:50.226), FP2: 20th, Laps: 20 (1:49.596)
“It’s great to be back in Spa, although the lap feels very different with this new generation of cars. We had a solid day today, running through the tire compounds and different fuel loads, although it was interrupted by the flags in both sessions. We have some work to do to get the balance and energy deployment right over the lap, but we will look into this tonight to improve for Qualifying tomorrow.”
Valtteri Bottas:
FP1: 18th, Laps: 21 (1:49.839), FP2: 19th, Laps: 19 (1:49.199)
“It was a positive and productive day overall. We completed all of our planned setup work, ran through a number of valuable tests and had no issues with the car, which allowed us to maximize our track time. It also looks like we’re a little bit closer to the midfield here, which is encouraging. There’s still plenty to analyze overnight, but we’ve gathered some good data and the focus now is on finding those marginal gains that can help us take another step forward tomorrow.”
Graeme Lowdon, Team Principal:
“We had a clean day today and were able to conduct some very useful evaluation of the new front wing endplate we have brought to Spa. It is performing well and showing a step forward in terms of balance and aero performance. Energy management over the long lap will be our principal focus tonight as we have yet to put together the optimal strategy for deployment, so we know there is more lap time to come from us.”