Cadillac F1: New team confirms Valterri Bottas and Sergio Perez as 2026 drivers in best-case scenario
New Formula 1 team Cadillac has announced its drivers for the 2026 season - and it’s the best possible scenario for the American outfit.
The US team will join the F1 grid as the 11th manufacturer next year, and had a fair few options for their driver line-up.
But despite being brand new to the sport, Cadillac is clearly not shy of investing heavily in the best available talent, announcing Valteri Bottas and Sergio Perez as their drivers for 2026.
Bottas, 35, started out in F1 with Williams before a move to Mercedes in 2017, where he finished championship runner-up in 2020. He left the team in 2021, but returned as a reserve driver this season following a spell at the Alfa Romeo/Sauber team between 2022 and 2024.
Mexican racer Perez was a runner-up in the 2023 drivers’ championship to Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen. He left the team at the end of the following season.
Bottas said: “From the moment I began speaking with the Cadillac Formula 1 team, I felt something different – something ambitious but also grounded.
“This isn’t just a racing project; it’s a long-term vision. It’s not every day that you get a chance to be part of something being built from the ground up and helping shape it into something that truly belongs on the F1 grid.”
Perez described the move as “an incredibly exciting new chapter” in his career, and added: “From our first conversations, I could sense the passion and determination behind this project.
“It’s an honour to be part of building a team that can develop together so that, in time, we will fight at the very front.”
Other options were available to Cadillac - and would have been cheaper for a brand new team - but would have been a drop down in quality on-track.
One of the other frontrunners for a seat was Mick Schumacher. The son of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, the ex-Haas driver has been plying his trade in the World Endurance Championship for Alpine.
Former Sauber driver Zhou Guanyu was also in contention, but lacks the pedigree and experience of both Bottas and Perez.
There was also a possibility for either Franco Colapinto or Jack Doohan to be hired - depending on whoever fell out of favour at Alpine by the end of the season.