Guenther Steiner, former director of the Haas team, has advised Cadillac to immediately abandon the development of its Formula 1 car for the 2026 season and redirect its resources towards the 2027 model.
After starting its participation in the championship in early 2026 with experienced drivers Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas, the team has encountered difficulties, with reliability issues placing them in 11th position in the constructors’ standings, with no points accumulated.
Steiner, who commented that the initial expectations were disproportionate, stated that the team should focus on preparing for 2027. ‘There is no sense in continuing with what remains for this season,’ he explained during an appearance on a podcast dedicated to Formula 1.
Recently, Cadillac announced the change of team director, replacing Graeme Lowdon with Marcin Budkowski. Steiner believes that Budkowski’s priority should be to prepare the car for the following year, rather than working on improvements for the upcoming races.
The director emphasized that this decision is not just a question of numbers, but a necessity to learn from the process. ‘There is an impressive discrepancy between expectations and the reality of performance,’ said Steiner, adding that the team seems to have underestimated the complexity of the championship.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
