Continued improvement will get Cadillac noticed - Towriss

Cadillac Formula 1 Team CEO Dan Towriss believes the American team will gain credit and support as long as it continues to progress, but will face fair criticism if it stops improving.

The newest team on the grid made its debut in F1 in Australia this year, meaning the Miami Grand Prix was just the fourth race it has competed in so far. With both drivers dropping out in Q1 of every qualifying session so far, and a best race finish of 13th, Cadillac has only been realistically fighting with Aston Martin to date, but Towriss believes fans will appreciate the team’s performances if they continue to make steps forward.

“That's a hard selling point,” Towriss said of satisfying supporters at this stage. “It’s Formula 1, the expectations are high. I’m not going to try to justify qualifying 18th and 19th as a moral victory. I think we just want to keep our head down, do our work and show a rate of progression.

“I think that's the biggest thing, is just to show that there's no stagnation, that it's changing race after race and create that upward trajectory, and eventually that's what people will start to notice.”

Cadillac has also promised to bring a fresh approach to the way it activates within F1, but Towriss says the ability to do so needs to come from a platform of strong on-track execution.

“The goal is to not overdo that, to do things differently just to be different,” he said. “I think to have the right to do things different, you need to do the everyday things really well to show that we know how Formula 1 works, we know what's expected, and we can do the daily blocking and tackling, and execute that with precision and with quality.

“Then I think we’re able to do some different events and be different in ways that we think are growing the sport and not just a spectacle of ‘look at us’. The goal is to grow our fan base and to help grow Formula 1 here in the U.S.”

Towriss also praised the approach of both Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez in supporting Cadillac’s development, given the two multiple race-winners are yet to be able to seriously compete for a spot in the second phase of qualifying.

“I think that's where the experience kicks in, and I think really both Valtteri and Checo [Perez] have had a nice blend of the balance of pushing but also not so hard that it's detrimental to the team – giving the team room to grow and room to respond, but at the same time, they're holding the team accountable,” Towriss said. “They're pointing out what we need to develop, what's working, what's not working. as we continue to refine everything and evolve into a team of the future.”