The new Cadillac Formula 1 team will see former grand prix winners and vice champions, Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas, drive for them for the 2026 season.
In a statement, that had been expected for weeks, the new American team said: “Together, Bottas and Perez bring an unmatched blend of experience, leadership and technical acumen, positioning the Cadillac Formula 1 Team to hit the ground running as it joins the world’s most elite racing series.
“With more than 500 combined Grand Prix starts, over 100 podiums and deep development expertise, the pair will play a central role in shaping the team’s competitive foundation from day one.”
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In the past decade, both drivers understood what it takes for a team to win world championships. Bottas helped Mercedes to five constructors’ titles and Sergio Perez was part of Red Bull’s title winning team, in 2022 and ’23.
Modern work ethics, structures, communication and execution will be an incredibly useful thing for the squad to learn, in its formative years as an F1 constructor. The sport is not merely an easy step, it is brutal, and having two experienced drivers can accelerate that process as best as it can.
That does not mean that the General Motors-backed-team will become race winners, let alone midfield runners, overnight. Their ambitions will be as realistic as possible, and having two modern veterans of the sport, for what is believed to be on multi-year deals, will help to frame those targets in the most achievable way possible, both for 2026 and beyond.
It is entirely likely that Cadillac will be towards the foot of the standings in 2026 and 2027, but with their new driver line up, it will form a sequence of learning that will be needed for them to realise their aspirations, however far up the order they aim for.
All eyes on 2026 👀 Our driver line-up is locked in @valtteribottas @schecoperez 🔒
— Cadillac Formula 1 Team (@Cadillac_F1) August 26, 2025
Read more: https://t.co/6AtpicZS41 pic.twitter.com/tPDme1S7c6
But that is not just their role, because they are quick drivers anyway. After a breakthrough year in 2014, Bottas was touted as a potential future world champion by some and won ten races as a Mercedes driver.
The Finn also finished within 60 points of world champion Lewis Hamilton, in 2017 and proved that, on his best days, he genuinely had what it takes to be at least competitive against the sport’s benchmark.
Perez meanwhile became the king of the sport’s midfield, for the best part of half a decade, and earned a Red Bull drive by digging so deep to save what was appearing to be a shortened career. But a brilliant last-to-first win at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix confirmed everything you needed to know about Perez, his best days are astonishing.
Although it is possible, if not probable, that their best days are behind them and that they became the typical ‘number two’ driver to the modern-day greats, (Hamilton and Verstappen) that does not shame them as a partnership at all.
Yes, they were both recently dropped at the end of 2024, as their respective teams look towards the future, but for a new and unproven team, who will probably be towards the lower positions in 2026, could they have signed a better line up?
Are there better drivers out there, like a Verstappen or Leclerc? Yes. But were they going to take what would almost certainly be a big drop to a new team? No.
This partnership may also feel safe and boring, given that the team has not entrusted the drives with young, up and coming American talent, or exciting talent elsewhere.
A younger driver may have better raw speed than the pair of them, but may struggle communicating and developing with an equally inexperienced team. For instance, look at Mick Schumacher at Haas.
And although the pair may not remain for the long term, for where the team will be in the next couple of years, the foundations need to be set.
2026 will be the first of a handful of learning and development years for them, where their technical and operational rigour will be tested. Remember, this team is starting from scratch, so they are not looking to set trends in the sport, they are there to follow and understand them, and that is where experience counts.
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