Just hours after announcing its 2026 driver lineup, Cadillac F1 has defended its decision to go with two experienced non-Americans. Cadillac F1 has opted for the veteran duo of Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez, amid criticism that the team overlooked younger options.
The New York announcement confirmed that Bottas and Perez (both 35) will form the all-new Cadillac lineup in 2026. However, some observers, noted that both struggled at the tail end of their terms at Mercedes and Red Bull, respectively.
CADILLAC F1
However, Cadillac F1 CEO, Dan Towriss, insists the Finnish-Mexican choice is deliberate. “We spent a lot of time looking at past experience. At Sauber, Valtteri performed with the car that had qualifying performance versus race performance,” Towriss explained.
As for Perez, who was dropped by Red Bull at the end of 2024, his stock has risen since as Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson both struggled in the same seat. “Clearly none of the other drivers have fared well in that second Red Bull seat. And so we did take a lot of time to talk to people at Red Bull and get information and feedback,” said Towriss.
BACK IN FORMULA ONE
“When you look at Valtteri, he’s at the track every weekend. And so, it was important for us to know where Sergio was at in terms of his desire to be back in Formula 1. And we couldn’t have been more pleased with his response,” Towriss confirmed.
Perez himself rejected any suggestion he needs to prove his worth in the Cadillac F1 seat. “Everyone forgets that Red Bull is a very difficult place. You have to constantly adapt, work on your mental toughness. So, I don’t think I have anything to prove – look at how many points they’ve got without me (in the second seat), about five for the whole season?” added Perez.
NO AMERICAN DRIVERS
However, Cadillac F1 appears to have backtracked on its ambition to bring an American driver onto the grid. Both Bottas and Perez are on multi-year deals. And there are only rumours linking Colton Herta to a move into F2 as preparation for a potential F1 career.
“Colton Herta doesn’t have enough points for the Formula 1 Super Licence. Ultimately, we preferred to go with experience. We’ve hired a lot of very experienced people to bring Cadillac F1 onto the grid in a meaningful way,” Towriss confirmed.
Finally, Towriss dismissed talk that former Red Bull boss Christian Horner could be recruited. “There have been no discussions with Christian Horner, and there won’t be any. Graeme Lowdon is our team principal and he has our full confidence,” concluded Towriss – with GMM
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