The Cadillac Formula 1 team has signed Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas as its two drivers for the 2026 season, bringing a pair of experienced hands and race winners to its inaugural lineup.
The announcement Tuesday answers one of the hottest questions surrounding the GM-backed American team, which is joining the grid next year as the 11th team.
The decision shows that Cadillac is putting a premium on experience as it navigates the choppy waters of starting an F1 team from scratch, the first new entry in a decade. Before it inked deals with the two 35-year-old veterans, the team had considered some younger prospects and initially spoke of wanting to sign an American driver as part of its lineup.
“Signing two very experienced racers like Bottas and Checo [Pérez] is a bold signal of intent,” Cadillac team principal Graeme Lowdon said in a statement. “They’ve seen it all and they know what it takes to succeed in Formula 1. But more importantly, they understand what it means to help build a team. Their leadership, feedback, race-hardened instincts and of course their speed will be invaluable as we bring this team to life.”
Bottas, who is Finnish, has 10 race wins and 20 pole positions to his name. Pérez, of Mexico, has six race wins and three pole positions under his belt.
“From the moment I began speaking with the Cadillac Formula 1® Team, I felt something different — something ambitious but also grounded,” Bottas said in a statement. “I’ve had the honor of working with some of the best teams in the world, and I can already see the same professionalism and hunger here.”
“This is an iconic brand with a big legacy in American motorsport. ... I’m looking forward to representing the American spirit of racing on the greatest circuits in the world,” he said.
Pérez called it a “dynamic line-up” that he hopes will “help shape this team into a real contender, the team of the Americas.”
“Cadillac is a legendary name in American motorsport, and to help bring such a fantastic company to Formula 1 is a huge responsibility, one I’m confident of taking on,” he said in the statement. “I’m proud to be part of such an ambitious and meaningful project from the very beginning.”
Bottas and Pérez have had similar trajectories in their F1 careers, excelling in midfield teams and attracting the attention of championship contenders. Bottas raced for Mercedes and Pérez raced for Red Bull, each of them helping propel those teams to several constructors’ titles. But they fell short of winning driver’s championships, running headlong into two all-time greats in Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen as teammates.
Still, the two bring unique strengths: Bottas has been praised for his strong one-lap pace during Saturday qualifying, while Pérez tends to be strongest during Sunday Grand Prix races and is known for his tire management skills.
Bottas left Mercedes after the 2021 season and went on to drive for Sauber for a few years, before he returned to Mercedes as reserve driver for this season. Pérez exited the F1 grid last year.
Peter Crolla, the race team manager at Cadillac F1, told NBC News this summer that the team’s goals for the launch break down into three tiers.
“We start off with respectable participation,” he said in an interview at the Canadian Grand Prix in June. “At some point after that will come reliability, because we won’t have it from the start. ... Following that will come performance.”
Crolla said the team is realistic about the challenge.
“You can’t go straight in with an expectation of high performance when you’re working against teams that have done it for — the shortest lead time is 10 years, the longest one is 70 years,” he said. “We’re representing a brand that’s not been represented in Formula 1 before, and there’s a great sense of pride with that. But people are excited by challenges. People are excited by fresh start, and this is definitely one of the biggest of those.”
