Formula 1 Presenter Lawrence Barretto revealed that the Cadillac F1 team had finalized its range of drivers for the 2026 season with Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas, and only the formalities remain unanswered before an advertisement.
Cadillac received its approval to reach the F1 grid in March as the eleventh sports team. The outfit has prepared to develop the organization from zero and to build a capable car.
The American team has also been in talks with several drivers in recent months, and its preference has been to have an experienced F1 driver who could help them in the first years in the first class of motorsport.
Barretto, reporting from Spa-Francorchamps, said Perez and Bottas like the names Cadillac wishes to sign for its inception in F1, while speaking of the Alpine F1 team, with which Bottas was recently linked. He said::
Giorgio Viera / AFP / Getty Images
“Bottas was obviously linked to Alpine. But in fact, I think that the most likely landing point for him is Cadillac, and we have not yet talked about it.
“But I heard that they did not make contracts – not even leaders – but Sergio Perez and Valteri Bottas are the two pilots they want in this team, and there is just one case that due to the movements.
“So, it could be some time until we discovered it, and obviously, there is still time that could change. But that’s where we look, I think.”
Perez and Bottas have been running in F1 for a long time and had the experience required to raise a team like Cadillac. Perez is currently out of sport after Red Bull separated from him last year. Bottas is currently a reserve driver at Mercedes, where he also lies in the recruit driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
While Bottas revealed his interest in Cadillac in the past, Perez also spoke of being part of a new project with which he has strongly resonated. Newsweek sports pointed out the Mexican driver’s comments last month. He said:
“The answer is yes, I want to come back, but only if the right project arrives, where I think I really belong or should be.
“I don’t want to come back at all costs. I am not interested in traveling around the world as a third driver or just waiting for an opportunity.
“I feel lucky for the career I had, and I want to come back – because I don’t want my career to end like that.
“But I am also aware that I will only come back if it is really worth the price you have to pay to be in Formula 1 – 24, and an entire life dedicated to sport.”
When asked if it would be an added value for a team like Cadillac, Perez said:
“Yes, I believe it 100%. If you look at my years with force India, then later with Red Bull – pushing the team’s race forward by race, and finally becoming a winning team – that’s exactly the kind of environment I am looking for.
“A team with this mentality, this unit. For me, it is more important than any trophy or realization: finding a project where the driver feels really motivated.”
