Cadillac haven’t scored a point yet. Bottas says the progress is visible anyway. I read it on RaceFans, sim paused, and it sounded very familiar.
His words, exactly as he said them: “We are definitely seeing an improvement somewhere every weekend. It’s not necessarily in the results yet, but it’s in how we operate as a team in different areas.”
That, in my room, is the ghost. You race your own best lap, you win nothing, nobody ranks you, but you watch the ghost car drop back a little. Last night I ran Spa again and took four tenths off my ghost between the Combes and Pouhon. In the lobby standings, no difference. In my bedroom, a party. That is exactly “not in the results yet”.
The other part interests me more. The Financial Times asked him whether Cadillac’s facilities are better than Mercedes’, where he won his ten Grands Prix between 2017 and 2021. He answered “I would say so”. I’d say so too.
Facilities are the setup before the setup. The factory simulator, for one. Cadillac are partly based at Silverstone, a short distance from Brackley. So two neighbouring factories, and I apply to both, every season. The job exists, I checked. No reply from Brackley, none from Silverstone, which at least proves the two share a server.
My room is seventy per cent cockpit. Facilities: excellent. Points scored: zero. Visible progress: every evening. I understand Bottas perfectly.
Just one variable missing between the ghost and the standings. The other twenty-one cars, for one. In theory.
It’s true, we checked: RaceFans.
