Cadillac is closing in on securing Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez as its first Formula 1 driver pairing, with negotiations understood to be at an advanced stage. Terms have been agreed in principle with both drivers, though contracts have not yet been signed. An official announcement could come as early as next week, before the F1 season resumes at the Dutch Grand Prix.
Both Bottas and Perez have been Cadillac’s preferred options for several months. The team’s leadership—backed by co-owners General Motors and TWG Global—held extensive discussions with a number of candidates, including Zhou Guanyu, 2022 Formula 2 champion Felipe Drugovich, and Alpine junior Paul Aron. But a meeting of stakeholders in late July confirmed the strategy: the fledgling team wanted proven race-winning drivers to lead its debut campaign.
Bottas, currently serving as Mercedes reserve, has made no secret of his desire to return to the grid. The Finn, a 10-time grand prix winner and twice championship runner-up with Mercedes, raced most recently for Sauber before being released at the end of 2024. At 35, he remains an experienced hand, with 246 career starts. His connection with Cadillac team principal Graeme Lowdon, who previously managed Bottas’s Sauber team-mate Zhou, further strengthened his candidacy. Bottas is expected to begin integration with Cadillac quickly and could participate in testing of previous cars (TPC) later this year, possibly in an older Ferrari chassis purchased to accelerate team preparations.
Perez, meanwhile, has been out of F1 since leaving Red Bull at the end of 2024. A six-time race winner with 281 starts, he was a key part of Red Bull’s championship-winning campaigns, including its first drivers’ 1-2 finish in 2023. The Mexican driver has been weighing interest from Alpine, but sources indicate he favors a multi-year deal with Cadillac that offers stability and a central role in building a new project from the ground up.
If finalized, the pairing would represent a coup for Cadillac. Rarely does a new team attract two drivers with proven race-winning pedigrees. Both Bottas and Perez bring not only experience of fighting at the front but also years of resilience in midfield and struggling teams—expertise Cadillac’s leadership believes will be crucial as it debuts with limited preparation time and an inevitable performance gap to established rivals.
With their combined 527 grand prix starts, Bottas and Perez would be among the most seasoned line-ups on the grid, behind only Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso in experience. Both will be 36 when Cadillac joins the championship in 2026, making them veterans closer to the ends of their careers. Yet this background could be exactly what Cadillac needs. Bottas’s adaptability during Sauber’s underfunded campaigns and Perez’s survival of Force India’s administration turmoil highlight their ability to extract results in difficult circumstances.
Although critics may argue Cadillac is signing drivers discarded by their former teams, the move signals ambition. It mirrors other rare moments when new F1 entries attracted established race winners—most recently Lotus in 2010, and famously BAR with Jacques Villeneuve in 1999. By aligning itself with Bottas and Perez, Cadillac can frame its entry as serious and competitive from day one.
Cadillac’s preparations have accelerated since its entry was confirmed last November. Based out of Silverstone, the team is building infrastructure, recruiting staff, and exploring opportunities to run a previous-generation car for early track development. Securing its drivers now would allow integration into simulator programs and technical development ahead of 2026.
While some uncertainty remains—Cadillac could still delay one contract to keep flexibility in the driver market—momentum strongly suggests Bottas and Perez will be announced together. For Formula 1’s newest team, the combination of experience, resilience, and proven speed makes them an ideal foundation on which to build its ambitious debut.
