Cadillac pledged to investigate cause of Bottas’s Mexico City crash

An apparent front-left suspension failure ended Valtteri Bottas’s Mexico City Grand Prix on lap 46 and sent him into the barriers at Turn 1. He was released after precautionary checks at the medical centre and later said he was okay.

Bottas was running 17th when he crashed. He had started at the back after grid penalties for new power-unit components and made an early pit stop in an attempt to undercut rivals. The front-left suspension appeared to break as he braked at the end of the main straight; the car slid through the run-off area and struck the barriers rear-first. The crash brought out a red flag while marshals repaired the barriers.

On team radio, race engineer John Howard asked whether Bottas was okay; he replied, “F**k no.” After medical-centre checks, Bottas later said, “It was a big impact going into Turn 1, but thankfully I’m okay.” He thanked the medical team and those who helped at the scene. He also said the team had made up places on a strong opening lap and that he was disappointed not to finish another race.

Team principal Marcin Budkowski said Cadillac would fully investigate the cause and ensure such accidents did not happen again. He also said the team had fallen short on operational execution despite limitations in its current package. Cadillac had faced other reliability failures during its maiden F1 season, though Motorsport.com said they had been less dangerous: drivers had been able to retire by stopping on track or returning to the garage. Sergio Pérez had suffered a similar front-right suspension problem in Canada earlier in the 2026 season.