Cadillac board member and former Formula 1 champion Mario Andretti has broken his silence regarding the team’s 2026 driver line-up.

With the 2026 season just months away, all eyes are on the 11th team on the grid for the upcoming season: Cadillac.

The General Motors-backed project will begin life on the grid as a Ferrari customer team, with the understanding that it will start producing its own engines from 2028 onwards.

And while the team has already sorted out stuff on the chassis and powertrain side, it is yet to announce arguably the most important piece of the puzzle: its driver line-up.

The likes of Valtteri Bottas, Sergio Perez, and Mick Schumacher had all been in the running, as per reports.

That said, earlier this week, it seems that the duo of Bottas and Perez have agreed a deal, at least in principle, to race for the American outfit.

Andretti breaks silence on Cadillac reports

Andretti has been keen to get back into the sport, this time in an owner role.

His bid to introduce the Andretti brand into the paddock failed, but he has clawed his way back onto the grid with Cadillac.

The 1978 F1 World Champion was signed up by Cadillac as an advisor and board member.

And despite all the signals pointing towards the duo of Perez and Bottas to kick off Cadillac’s venture, the 85-year-old urged fans to only believe what the team officially puts out.

While speaking to German publication BILD, Andretti kept his cards close to his chest as he did not divulge any expected date or time period for the team’s driver announcement.

“Just believe what we communicate,” he said.

Perez’s former boss, Otmar Szafnauer, is confident that Cadillac has rightly placed its faith in experience over youth as the team begins life at the pinnacle of single-seaters.

“If he [Perez] finds the right environment, with all of his experience at both smaller teams with less budget [than] Red Bull, he definitely has something to offer,” he told PlanetF1.

“Especially perhaps, a new team coming in that needs an experienced driver for the first couple of years, Checo would be a good addition.”

READ MORE – Why Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez is the sensible debut F1 driver line-up for Cadillac

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With the likelihood that Cadillac will now be signing two of Formula 1‘s most experienced out-of-work drivers, the team might just have placed itself in the best possible place for 2026.

Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez can boast 527 Grand Prix starts between them, along with 16 race wins, and such know-how of their way around an F1 car will be invaluable.

F1 is preparing to enter the unknown next year, with the FIA’s new set of regulations threatening to shake the sport up as much as it ever has been. That, in effect, gives Cadillac the advantage of a blank slate, plus the benefit of the most amount of aerodynamic testing as per F1’s rules.

But the nascent squad’s necessity to have some expertise behind the wheel will be all-important if it is to get itself a foothold on the F1 ladder.

Perhaps more so with Bottas, as he will perhaps possess more prior knowledge of the new technical regulations via his current role as Mercedes’ reserve driver.

With teams already enabling drivers to perform simulator runs on early incarnations of the ’26 cars, Bottas may well have placed his mulleted head beneath the Halo, so to speak.

The Finn has already indicated, since being out of full-time racing since losing his Sauber drive last year, that he is ready and willing to race again.

And it’s not just what skill he can bring to the table; it is also the fact that his humorous profile and willingness to make himself the butt of it will bring added marketing clout to the team.

For Perez, it will be a mission to prove himself still worthy of an F1 seat after his unceremonious dismissal from Red Bull at the end of last year.

With Liam Lawson losing the drive that he took from Perez after two races, and with Yuki Tsunoda continuing to struggle, he will surely never be more motivated to prove to the outside world that he was never the problem in that second seat alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull.

And being Mexican, Perez is naturally the closest the team has to an American driver. That sort of profile will also give the team the ability to potentially find a new wave of fans across the Americas, something that F1’s other American squad, Haas, has continuously failed to find.

The hurdle of securing an American driver would always prove to be tricky anyway, with the likes of IndyCar’s Colton Herta needing to find the necessary Super Licence points.

Jak Crawford was perhaps the only realistic option, but it seems that Cadillac appeared less interested in finding a compatriot to fill a seat and instead found the right men to be on the right platform towards success in the future. With Bottas and Perez, it is set to accomplish that.

Both drivers were given an equal chance to become World Champions in their prime: Bottas spent five seasons alongside Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes, while Perez was Verstappen’s team-mate at Red Bull between 2021 and 2024. The pair had title-winning equipment at their disposal during those periods; the problem was, they had generational drivers in the opposite garage.

Bottas harboured the pace over a single lap to rival Hamilton on numerous occasions, but he didn’t possess the all-round skillset to translate that into more victories to mount a sustained title bid throughout his spell with the Silver Arrows. Likewise, Perez never posed a serious internal threat to Verstappen, although it was his raw speed that ultimately undermined his endeavours.

But as a new entrant with a steep learning curve, Cadillac will not be calling on either driver to go out and win races against the very best competitors on the grid. Instead, the American marque will be reliant on the two individuals in the cockpit to assist with the team’s development and to capitalise on points-scoring opportunities that arise in a tightly contested midfield battle.

In that regard, Bottas and Perez are the ideal candidates. Bottas starred at Williams to earn his eventual switch to Mercedes as the successor to the then-reigning champion, Nico Rosberg, while he also did a sterling job when Sauber was a competitive entity upon his arrival in 2022.

Meanwhile, Perez was long renowned as a midfield specialist prior to his Red Bull stint, scoring three podiums in a Sauber in a breakout campaign in 2012 – landing him what transpired to be an ill-fated move to McLaren – and several more top three finishes with the Silverstone-based squad before it morphed into Aston Martin, including a coveted maiden win in Bahrain in 2020.

Haas was the last new team to be granted a place on the grid, and it immediately showed how valuable having a driver with extensive experience in the sport can be when starting out. Romain Grosjean produced a memorable shock when he drove his Haas VF-16 to sixth place on the American outfit’s debut in Australia and then went one better at the next race in Bahrain. Haas would be unable to maintain that level of competitiveness throughout the team’s inaugural campaign, but Grosjean’s exploits had been enough to help it finish eighth, above Renault.

Now, to expect Cadillac to replicate Haas’ debut heroics is not realistic. The team has been candid about the inevitable tribulations that it is poised to endure. However, in Bottas and Perez, Cadillac will have two drivers who are guaranteed to make that transition much more seamless.

READ MORE – The key storylines to follow for the rest of the 2025 F1 season

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Cadillac has made its first driver signing for the team’s debut Formula 1 season next year in the shape of Finnish veteran Valtteri Bottas, according to reports.

Motorsport Week has previously reported that Bottas was appearing to be firmly placed with the rookie team, amid sightings of the Finn and Team Principal Graeme Lowdon together in close conversation at May’s Monaco Grand Prix.

The signing would put to bed recurring speculation about a potential union between both parties, which culminated in a comical social media post from Bottas.

Filmed walking a public street, Bottas stumbled upon a Cadillac SUV, and upon opening the door, proclaimed it to be “a nice seat”.

Further rumours recently have pointed the 35-year-old towards a possible switch to Alpine, which next year becomes a power unit customer of Mercedes, for which Bottas is currently a reserve driver.

But the reports indicate that Bottas could be unveiled as a Cadillac driver as early as next week, when F1 returns from its summer break at the Dutch Grand Prix.

Bottas, who lost his drive at Sauber last year, has made no secret of the fact that he is keen to return to full-time racing.

His previous and current Team Principal, Toto Wolff, has also vocalised his desire to see Bottas racing again, recently telling a Mercedes-produced video to “watch this space”.

It is worth noting that if Bottas will indeed take to the grid aboard a Cadillac at the Australian Grand Prix on March 8, he will need to serve a five-place grid penalty, carried over from an incident with Kevin Magnussen at last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Who will fill seat number two at Cadillac?

If Bottas’ signature is now drying on a Cadillac contract, then the focus shifts onto who will fill the second seat alongside him.

Prior media reports have stated that another veteran – Sergio Perez – is also poised to be signing for the team.

However, previous speculation has discussed whether Cadillac will opt for a line-up of one experienced driver with a rookie, which would leave Perez out.

Bottas’ last team-mate, Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu, is thought to be on the shortlist, and brings two particular plus points.

Guanyu is already au fait with Lowdon, having been managed by the Brit’s Equals Management company.

He is also currently contracted to Ferrari as reserve driver, and the Italian marque will be providing the team with engines until it is able to build its own in-house.

Mick Schumacher is also under consideration, with the former Haas driver having been seen in discussion with Cadillac representatives at several Grands Prix this year.

Felipe Drugovich might also be a prospect, the Brazilian having played a dutiful role at Aston Martin for the last three years.

Fernando Alonso recently backed him for a race seat, and has recently seen his stock rise after an impressive points-scoring finish in a Formula E one-off for Mahindra Racing.

There is little doubt, however, that the team would ideally like to field an American driver, and the most logical is currently Formula 2 star Jak Crawford.

Another Aston protege, Crawford has also got indirect ties to the team via Formula E, having been a reserve driver for Andretti, which is, like Cadillac, owned by the TWG organisation.

READ MORE – The FIA reveals how it intends to avoid ‘unnatural things’ by tweaking 2026 F1 rules

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Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has hinted that Valtteri Bottas could be set for a full-time return to Formula 1, amid ongoing speculation regarding a move to Cadillac.

The Finnish veteran has been without a race seat in 2025, after losing his drive with Sauber at the end of last year.

Bottas returned to the German marque as its reserve driver, having spent five seasons alongside Lewis Hamilton between 2017 and 2022.

Ongoing speculation has pointed towards a move to Cadillac, as the American marque shapes up for its debut campaign next year.

A recent social media post exacerbated those rumours, in which he jokingly approached a Cadillac SUV, proclaiming it to be a “nice seat” when touching the interior.

Back in June, it was reported that Bottas was top of its wishlist of drivers, with Motorsport Week revealing that he was seen in deep conversation with Team Principal Graeme Lowdon.

Additional rumours have since suggested Bottas may be set for a switch to Alpine instead, with the Enstone-based squad becoming a Mercedes powertrain customer from next year.

Bottas also touted his availability to teams in June, speaking of his desire to be racing again on F1’s Beyond the Grid podcast.

But regardless of destination, it seems that the 10-time Grand Prix winner is close to finding himself back on the grid once again.

In a Mercedes debrief video, Wolff seemed to drop the biggest hint yet that Bottas is close to making a return, something he appeared to give his full blessing.

“Obviously, Valtteri has been part of the Mercedes family for a long, long time,” he said.

“He is a driver where, if some of our drivers had fish poisoning, you put him in the car and he’s going to be absolutely on pace.

“That’s great to know, that your reserve and third driver is as quick as it gets.

“Obviously, with Valtteri, he deserves a race seat.

“Hopefully, that door is going to open. Watch this space.”

READ MORE – Red Bull accuses Toto Wolff of ‘stirring up’ Max Verstappen to Mercedes rumours

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Andrea Kimi Antonelli‘s debut Formula 1 season has had a mixture of highs and lows, but is assured of the guidance provided by Valtteri Bottas.

The Italian rookie has enjoyed a largely bright first half of his maiden F1 campaign, taking pole position for the Miami Sprint Race, as well as a first-ever podium in Canada.

But it hasn’t always been plain sailing. Taking out Max Verstappen on Lap 1 in Austria followed a qualifying crash in Monaco.

However, Antonelli can rely on the help of the German marque’s third driver Bottas, who returned to the team after losing his Sauber drive at the end of last year.

When asked by Motorsport Week in Barcelona if the Finn is often on hand to provide support, Antonelli admitted that his help has been invaluable.

“I mean, having Valtteri in the team obviously is great and it’s a great opportunity as well to use him and in a way, in the sense of asking him for advice,” he said.

“So definitely, he’s been really helpful and he’s always there for me, trying to give me advice, especially when he sees that I’m struggling a little bit.

“So when he sees that I’m a bit in a struggle, he’s always there trying to help me. I think a really good example was Suzuka as well.

“I had a difficult three free practices, but as well with his help, I was able to overcome the moment. So yeah, I’m really trying to rely on him because he’s a really good help.”

Antonelli compliments ‘journalist’ Bottas

Ahead of the British Grand Prix, Antonelli was given the chance to compliment Bottas to his face under humorous circumstances.

Speaking at the back row of the Mercedes media session in the comic guise of a journalist, Bottas asked Antonelli what it is like having him as a supportive third driver.

“Apart from George [Russell], I think with Valtteri, not because he’s here,” he said, “but I would have said anyway, we have a good relationship and he’s always been helpful towards me.

“And, you know, especially before weekends, especially in tracks that I didn’t know, he would come to me and he would tell me some little tricks and even during the weekend he would always be trying to help. 

“So I think his support has been really helpful, and also he’s a really cool dude!”

READ MORE – How have F1’s rookie contingent fared in 2025 so far?

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Pierre Gasly has dismissed the Valtteri Bottas rumours swirling around the Formula 1 paddock as “a lot of noise”, urging Alpine to focus on the real challenges ahead.

Despite a difficult start to the 2025 season, the Frenchman remains confident in his performances and the team’s long-term project.

After 12 rounds, Alpine remains rooted to the bottom of the Constructors’ standings with 19 points, 10 points behind Haas one place above.

Gasly has led the charge, with a standout sixth-place finish at Silverstone highlighting his efforts to extract the most from a struggling package.

On the other side of the garage, Franco Colapinto’s tough rookie campaign continued with a crash in qualifying and a DNS at Silverstone.

Still without a point, the Argentine faces growing pressure as speculation links Alpine with a move for Bottas.

Asked whether another experienced driver could help benchmark the team, Gasly dismissed the suggestion and insisted the focus should remain on the job at hand.

“I don’t think that’s the case – I think it’s a lot of noise,” he replied.

“I think the car, I’m showing every weekend what we can do with it, doing a very good job on Saturdays and putting it in places that on paper we all agree we should not really be.

“It’s just tricky, it’s a very tight midfield and we are at the back of it.

“There will always be noise, especially considering what happened earlier in the year, but I think at the end of the day, we should just focus on the work ahead.

“It’s going to be a long season. We don’t have upgrades, the car is not in the best place, but all of us need to focus on what we’ve got to do and try and do it the best way that we can.”

Gasly points to 2026 focus behind Alpine’s struggles

Gasly was also pressed on whether Alpine’s struggles are more down to the car than the drivers, and he acknowledged the razor-thin margins in the midfield have made the challenge even tougher.

“It’s easy to make it sound more dramatic than it is,” he explained. “I think it’s just a very tough field.

“You look a couple of years back, being eight [or] nine-tenths off the fastest car would put you sixth, seventh on the grid.

“This year, being eight [or] nine-tenths slower than the fastest car puts you on the back row.

“I think everyone has done a very good job, we know the strengths and weaknesses of our package.

“We don’t have the strongest car, we don’t have the strongest engine – both combined doesn’t put us in a very good spot.

“But I see a lot of good stuff happening in the team in terms of trying to get the maximum we can.

“We know the focus is on 2026, and it comes with some compromises this year, which are tough to take, but hopefully we see the dividends next year.”

READ MORE – The ‘weapon’ Alpine is pinning its hopes on to climb F1 order

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Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is choosing to “stay in the background” and let Valtteri Bottas make his own decisions amid a potential switch to fellow Formula 1 team Alpine.

The Finn has spent this season back at the German marque as its third driver, having lost his seat with Sauber.

Bottas has made no secret that he is on the lookout for a full-time race drive for next year, and all the signs have been pointing towards a move to the nascent Cadillac team.

A social media post last month posted by Bottas involved a rehearsed chance ‘bumping into’ a Cadillac SUV, and proclaiming it a “nice seat” as he inspected the interior of it.

But a possible switch to the Enstone-based squad has logical connotations.

Alpine will be a Mercedes customer from 2026 , and Bottas’ experience may cure its second driver woes, with both Jack Doohan and now Franco Colapinto struggling.

The rumours sparked at Silverstone when Bottas, asked by Viaplay if he was having discussions with Alpine Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore, said: “Yeah, you could say that.”

Bottas has spoken to Alpine ‘a few times’

Wolff went on further to confirm that not only had Bottas talked to Briatore, but he had on more than one occasion.

“A few times, actually,” the Austrian divulged.

“I saw him [Briatore] today and we talked about Valtteri. It seems that the interest in Valtteri is increasing even more.”

Wolff said that he would allow Bottas to go to Alpine should a proposal come in, not wishing to hold back a driver who obviously feels he still has a lot more to give.

“He deserves that seat,” he expressed. “If someone grabs him as a race driver, we’ll let him go. Of course, with a tear in the corner of our eye.

“Ultimately, I give him advice as a friend. Valtteri ultimately makes the choice with his management. I try to stay in the background.”

READ MORE – Why Haas has no interest in selling its F1 team despite ‘numerous offers’

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Alpine Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore has admitted Franco Colapinto must “improve” to retain his Formula 1 seat amid reports that Valtteri Bottas is being considered.

The Argentinian has flattered to deceive since replacing Jack Doohan six rounds into the season, failing to finish higher than 13th in the five Grands Prix he has contested.

Doohan was effectively ousted due to his inability to rival Pierre Gasly, who has scored 11 points in 2025, but Colapinto has provided little improvement in the second seat.

There has been much confusion as to how many races Colapinto would be afforded, with an original plan of five seemingly being increased, despite his disappointing results.

But Briatore, who sprung Colapinto from his Williams contract, delivered a brutal verdict during the Austrian Grand Prix, in which Gasly made it into the final part of qualifying.

“Clearly the car was good enough for Q3, but we are still lacking having two cars up where they should be,” Briatore said.

“Franco was through Q1 but too far away to reach Q3, which we need to improve if we are to put ourselves in a more competitive position with both cars.”

Colapinto on the precipice as Bottas targeted

The race in Spielberg was another torrid race for Colapinto, who received a five-second penalty when he put Oscar Piastri onto the grass as the McLaren lapped him.

“The car is a bit difficult for me to drive at the moment,” Colapinto, who is now the sole current driver without a point, explained to media including Motorsport Week.

“It’s not very consistent. It’s fast, but it just didn’t give me the confidence I needed to push in the high-speed areas. 

“It was a tough weekend. I think overall we made some progress, but it just felt like something wasn’t quite right.”

The continuation of Colapinto’s woes comes as reports have now emerged that the team is considering a move to sign Bottas, who is also an alleged target for Cadillac.

The Finn, seeking a return to F1, is back at Mercedes as a reserve driver, and the German marque’s forthcoming power unit deal with Alpine could help him land the drive.

READ MORE – Franco Colapinto poised to retain Alpine drive past F1 Austrian GP

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Valtteri Bottas is understood to be top of the driver wishlist for the forthcoming Cadillac Formula 1 team, as it prepares to open talks with potential candidates at next weekend’s British Grand Prix.

The American squad, which is based at Silverstone, will send its Team Principal, Graeme Lowdon, to the race to sound out drivers that it has considered for its two seats, as it prepares to take to the grid for the first time next season, as per Autosport.

Dan Trowiss, the CEO of the TWG Group, the American multinational conglomerate which owns the team, will also be in attendance.

Bottas, who has spent this season out of a full-time drive and back at former employers Mercedes as a third and reserve driver, has been one of a number of drivers rumoured to be in the team’s thoughts for some time.

Motorsport Week can also reveal that Bottas and Lowdon were seen in what appeared to be in deep conversation in the FIA’s motorhome over the weekend of the Monaco Grand Prix.

Just yesterday, Bottas appeared in an amusing social media post in which he is videoed taking an interest in a Cadillac SUV on the streets, and when inspecting the interior of the car, proclaims it as “a nice seat.”

Who else is on the Cadillac list?

Mick Schumacher, currently driving for Alpine in the World Endurance Championship, is thought to be in consideration, and was said to be the only driver of any kind that attended the team’s launch party at the weekend of the Miami Grand Prix.

Sergio Perez has been a longstanding candidate too, but there is less of a guarantee about whether he will be signed.

It is yet unclear if the team will opt for two established drivers. If it is, then a Bottas-Perez pairing is what is thought to be most likely, however if there is scope for a blend of youth and experience, then Bottas will be the leading candidate of the latter category.

If Cadillac chooses this route, then its likeliest candidate for the former is Felipe Drugovich, currently a reserve driver for Aston Martin.

The Brazilian, who won the Formula 2 championship in 2022, is yet to find a full-time race seat in F1, and was said to have been ready to ditch his appearance at the Le Mans 24 Hours at the last minute for a one-off drive.

After Aston’s Lance Stroll withdrew from the Spanish Grand Prix owing to a persistent wrist injury, Drugovich was alleged to have hinted his wish to partake in the Canadian Grand Prix if Stroll was unable to drive.

The TWG Group, which also oversees the Andretti Formula E team, potentially has an additional opportunity to study the 25-year-old, as he is slated to make an appearace in the all-electric championship for Mahindra Racing at the upcoming Berlin E-Prix.

READ MORE – Valtteri Bottas drops big hint about F1 future with social media post

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Valtteri Bottas has dropped a big hint about his Formula 1 future with an amusing social media post, which could give a clue about a potential new team for 2026.

The Finn, who was dropped by Sauber at the end of last year, has since returned to former stomping ground Mercedes as a third and test driver, and has been present at most of the races so far this year.

Bottas, 35, has been hopeful of a full-time return to the sport, and recently told the ‘Beyond the Grid’ podcast that he was “not done yet” with F1.

He also hinted interest in a drive with Red Bull, theorising that perhaps a more experienced driver like himself would be better equipped to tackle the troublesome RB21, as opposed to Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda.

There has been much speculation about the forthcoming Cadillac outfit being a suitable destination for Bottas, and his social media post has indicated this could well be true.

‘It’s a nice seat’

Clad in cowboy hat, Bottas approaches a Cadillac road car, and is enticed towards it by someone holding the camera.

Opening the door, Bottas touches the leather upholstery inside and proclaims it is “a nice seat.”

Bottas’ name is said to have been high on Cadillac’s list, along with fellow F1 outcasts Sergio Perez, Mick Schumacher and former Sauber team-mate Zhou Guanyu.

On the same edition of the podcast, Bottas said that the project was “very interesting,” but added that there may be a wait to find out if he will be on its driver roster for its debut campaign.

“I don’t think they’re in a massive rush,” he said. “They’ve been very, very busy on trying to get a car on the grid for next year.”

“For me, I actually see a very interesting project, something new to F1, an American team with maybe a different view to the sport,” he added. “If I would be there as a driver, it would be actually very interesting because you can start from scratch.

“The team starts from zero. You could actually make a big influence on certain things, which direction to go, and that would be very motivating and rewarding when the success comes.

“I think the rule change is always a good point to jump in because you just never know, if you suddenly get it right you might actually be doing really well from the get-go.”

READ MORE – Why Williams overlooked move to sign IndyCar star Alex Palou

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