Published:
Readtime: 3 min
Every product is carefully selected by our editors and experts. If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission. Learn more. For more information on how we test products, click here.
Cadillac F1 is targeting experience over youth, with the reported signing of veteran F1 drivers Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas, who have 527 race starts and 16 podiums between them. It’s a safe bet in a sport that traditionally favours upside over experience. Still, early signs suggest it’s probably the right decision for a team that’s yet to figure out where it sits amongst the ever-crowded grid.
Valtteri Bottas started rumours months ago after he posted a video to his social media asking, “Do we like seat?” regarding a Cadillac Escalade he was driving. Sergio Perez, on the other hand, has been remarkably quiet. Speaking to F1.com about a potential return to the grid, he said that he was waiting for the right opportunity to come his way. “If I find a project that motivates me fully to come back, where the team believe in me and where they appreciate my career, my experience and everything I can bring to a team, it would be very attractive to consider it,” he said in a video call from his home in Mexico.
“That’s why I’ve given myself at least six months to get all my options on the table and make a decision on what I do next with my career.”
Now, six months later, Checo and Bottas are set to return to the grid alongside each other, behind the wheel of an unproven but well-funded and researched Cadillac F1 team.
It’s likely that Cadillac will finish at the bottom of the standings next season, with little real-world testing taking place between now and the first race of the season in Melbourne on Sunday, March 8th, 2026. The team will hope to replicate the Haas debut from 2016, which saw Romain Grosjean secure a sixth-place finish at the Australian Grand Prix, but it’s unlikely, and points will be hard to find during the first season.
They do have a trick up their sleeve with Bottas, however. He’s a proven race winner with 10 wins, 20 poles, and 67 podiums. Most importantly, he’s Mercedes’ 2025 reserve, which means he’s likely had early sim mileage on 2026-spec concepts. This should at least give them a head start in understanding the new regulations and vehicle behaviour.
Pre-season testing will be paramount for the team, and they’ll be able to sleep easier at night between now and then, knowing that they have two veteran drivers in the hot seat, ready to share technical knowledge and develop the cars with their engineers.
They would already be looking well ahead to private testing on January 26th-30th at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. This will be the first time the new drivers can get behind the wheel of the Ferrari-powered Cadillac F1 car, but the media and public will have to wait a little longer to see the 11th team practice. Public testing for the F1 season doesn’t begin until February 11th-13th at the Bahrain International Circuit and then February 18th-20th at the same track.
Once Cadillac matures and figures out the technical side of the sport, it will be able to take bigger risks and develop younger drivers, including the likes of Marta Garcia and even Logan Sargeant, who competed for Williams in 2023 and part of 2024 before being replaced. For now, they have their driver line-up all but confirmed for 2026.
Comments
We love hearing from you. or to leave a comment.