After months of reports and speculation, there is still no official announcement from Cadillac about their 2026 driver pairing. Although the wait for confirmation goes on, Valtteri Bottas is understood to be the team’s first choice.
There is no set date for when Cadillac will unveil their debut F1 line-up.
Depending on whether the US squad want to announce both drivers at once (which could take longer), or are happy to make separate announcements, will impact when official news is released.
Regardless, though, Bottas is the favourite to put pen to paper with Cadillac.
Why Bottas ticks all the boxes for Cadillac
Since Cadillac’s F1 entry was made official at the end of 2024, many drivers have been linked with the team.
Bottas is someone whose name has been consistently associated with the American project. Considering what the 35-year-old brings to the table, this is hardly a surprise.
The Finn’s career is about impressive as any team, let alone a new entrant, will see from a free agent.
With 10 race victories and dozens of podiums, Bottas brings a solid track record of performing at the highest level.
Whilst he never matched the efforts of Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes, he still contributed to the Silver Arrows’ constructors triumphs.
Bottas also outperformed Maldonado as a rookie in 2013, before securing better results than Felipe Massa from 2014-16.
In combination with his strong showing at Sauber, capitalising on the Swiss team’s strong spell in early 2022, the #77 driver is regarded as very capable.
Given that Cadillac have articulated the importance of having someone experienced, it can hardly be a surprise Bottas is in Pole Position to sign a contract.
The only free agent in the market with a comparable career is Sergio Perez.
Unlike Perez, however, Bottas’ reputation was not damaged by a difficult final spell at Red Bull.
Although Mario Andretti has stated that the struggles of Perez’s replacements paint his final years at Milton Keynes more favourably, it is still understood that Bottas is the preferred option out of the two.
Two experienced drivers, or a combination of experience and youth?
Speaking of Perez, his presence on Cadillac’s shortlist is relevant to their overarching driver priorities.
Fundamentally, there is no question about whether they will have one veteran driver at the team.
What is less clear, however, is whether another experienced driver – or someone younger – will be the second driver.
A multitude of younger options, such as Drugovich, Zhou, Crawford and Dunne have been linked with Cadillac.
In recent months, Drugovich has steadily risen as a strong candidate for next year.
At the same time, there is every possibility another young driver – such as Yuki Tsunoda – could become available later in the year.
Cadillac are understood to be monitoring Tsunoda’s availability, which could change towards the end of 2025.
More broadly speaking, team principal Graeme Lowdon has emphasised there is no rush to make any final decisions.
This is a sensible approach, especially as F2 drivers like Alex Dunne work to distinguish themselves.
As Cadillac evaluate an ever-evolving driver market, the only near-certainty appears to be the eventual acquisition of Valtteri Bottas into their ranks.
Main photo: Sauber media gallery
