Is Cadillac unsafe? Team vows to “fully investigate” suspension failure

Sunday’s race in Mexico provided a stark reminder of just how dangerous motorsport can be. Modern F1 cars comprise thousands of components, and the failure of even one can lead to a very dangerous situation. On this occasion, Valtteri Bottas experienced that first-hand, with his heavy crash putting Cadillac’s quality control under the spotlight.

The newcomer’s first season is unfolding much as most people expected. A very positive start to the season, when Sergio Pérez managed to get involved in midfield battles on a few occasions, gave way to a slump. Cadillac is currently well off the pace and is primarily battling its own problems.

The MAC-26 has suffered numerous technical problems, overheating and breaking down. After Sunday, however, questions arose over whether it could also pose a threat to the drivers’ health and safety, after Valtteri Bottas suffered a left-front suspension failure and his out-of-control car slammed into the barrier.

Viewers briefly held their breath as the red flags came out and Bottas remained in the cockpit, badly shaken. The driver eventually climbed out unaided, but medical personnel and an ambulance were dispatched to the scene. While Valtteri was shaken but otherwise OK under the circumstances, there was surprise on the Cadillac pit wall. Nobody had expected or anticipated the failure.

“Everyone is relieved that Valtteri is OK after the incident on lap 46. We will fully investigate the cause of this failure and ensure such accidents do not happen again,” Cadillac promised in a brief statement, which nevertheless suggested that the team did not know what had happened to the car on Sunday.

This was not the first failure of its kind, either. Something similar happened to Sergio Pérez in Canada. Bottas’s radio message after the crash also spoke volumes: after initially unleashing a string of expletives, he exclaimed when his engineer asked whether he was OK: “No! F**k!”

Valtteri was understandably excused from his post-race media duties, but he did at least address fans through the team’s official press statement. “It was a big impact going into Turn 1, but thankfully I’m OK,” said Bottas.

“Thank you to the medical team for checking me over and to everyone who helped at the scene. It is a testament to the hard work the FIA has put in over many years to make our sport as safe as possible,” Valtteri continued.

“We need to work through everything thoroughly as a team to understand exactly what happened, and make sure we learn from it. We had a strong opening lap and made up some places, so it’s disappointing not to finish another race. We’ll regroup now and focus on continuing to make progress in Sao Paulo next week,” Bottas promised in conclusion.