Cadillac to make F1 debut with Perez, Bottas as drivers

Cadillac’s incoming Formula 1 team – which will be the 11th on the grid – will start life with a veteran driving combination, signing Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas to fill its seats for the 2026 season.

Considering Mexican driver Pérez and Finnish driver Bottas are some of the most experienced free agents (they have 16 race wins between them), it makes complete sense to grab them together.

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Insider reports have said the team will be properly unveiled before the Dutch Grand Prix on Sunday.

Former Manor team principal Graeme Lowden, who is helming Cadillac, had them as top priorities from the start.

The Cadillac team had a little resistance in the form of already-competing Alpine; the French team took pitches to both Bottas and Pérez to see if they were interested in replacing Franco Colapinto. Both turned Alpine down.

Pérez hasn’t been in F1 this year after being sacked by Red Bull late in 2024. He had struggled to compete with multi-time champ Max Verstappen and spent most of the last year being lambasted for his slow pace, but sentiment turned slightly after successors Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda both flopped much harder and have similarly struggled against Max.

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Bottas hasn’t been on the circuit this year either, but has long been wanted by teams considering how strong his Mercedes stint was – he scored 10 Grand Prix victories there. “I want to be able to say I squeezed every drop out of this opportunity and left nothing on the table,” he said when leaving. After a non-scoring 2024 at Sauber, Bottas returned to Mercedes as a reserve.

For Aussie readers, you’ll be disappointed to learn Daniel Ricciardo told Cadillac ‘no’ quite early. The eight-time winner was linked to Cadillac by several publications, but he has no plans to race again in Formula 1 or otherwise.

The Cadillac team will be mainly based out of a U.K. factory near Silverstone next year.