Cadillac F1 Signs Pérez and Bottas for 2026 Debut

Cadillac is digging in deeper into its plans for Formula 1. On Tuesday, the American automobile manufacturer announced the hire of well-experienced drivers Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas for the first year of the team in 2026. Having an American team on the grid is a lit exciting. This clears up a lot of the ambiguity over the past several months, and that Cadillac is not wading into – it is all in.

The new team, Cadillac, will be the 11th entry on the grid next year when it officially joins F1, and the first new teams to join the grid in 10 seasons. There was some recent talk about potential to hire an American driver as it is plausible, especially since Mario Andretti continually echoed the importance of nurturing a homegrown talent pool. Ultimately at inclusion of experience, why gamble with drivers who haven’t set foot in a Formula 1 car.

Graeme Lowdon, team principal at Cadillac, weighed in on the thinking relative to their two drivers. “Signing two very experienced racers such as Bottas and Checo is a strong statement of intent,” he shared. “They have seen it all and know what it takes to be succesful in F1. But perhaps even more importantly, they understand what it means to develop a team.”

Both drivers have had plenty of experience. Bottas from Finland, has 10 career wins and 20 career poles. Pérez from Mexico has 6 wins and 3 poles. They have had the opportunity to race against and at times with two of the sports most heralded racers of all time, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. They both are not world champions, however both have been critical to their teams ambitions for a constructors’ title. Now all four move into a new challenge, the challenge of building Cadillac from the ground up.

Drivers excited to join Cadillac

It was clear as day both of the drivers were thrilled about joining a new American team. Bottas referenced seeing Cadillac’s vision in stacking statements when he first began to discuss the team. “I have been fortunate to work with some of the best teams in the world and can already see the same level of professionalism and hunger here,” he said. “This is a brand with an iconic history in American motorsport, and I am excited to be able to showcase the American spirit of racing on the best circuits in the world.”

Pérez echoed his own and teams energized dynamic, calling it a “great dynamic line-up” and recognition that they have the ability to make it a real competitor. “Cadillac is an iconic name in American motorsport and it is a huge honour and responsibility to help bring a great orgainisation like this into F1, a challenge I look forward to,” he said. “I am proud to be part of such an ambitious project from the ground-up.”

Their strengths also complement each other very nicely. Bottas is known for his speed in qualifying condition and Pérez, has demonstrated adeptness for race-managed conditions particularly tire-management and consistency under pressure. That interesting mix of skills could be helpful to Cadillac as they go about building a new team from nothing.

Cadillac has set ambitious yet realistic goals

The road ahead for Cadillac F1 team will be uphill, and team managers are under no pretentions about that. Race team manager Peter Crolla laid out the priorities in an interview earlier this year at the Canadian Grand Prix. “We start off with respectable participation. At some point after comes reliability… After that comes performance.”

Crolla pointed out that the degrees of experience gap between Cadillac and the other teams is enormous, many with decades of experience. “You can’t go right in expecting performance, effectively we are competing against teams that have done it for – the shortest lead time is 10 years, the longest is 70 years,” he said.

Regardless, the pursuit is part of the allure. Having a fresh start and the opportunity to build something from the ground-up, has rejuvenated the order of people you do not even see. And Cadillac, one of the most recognized names in American motorsport, is betting big on the fact that the driver experience, combined with what they view as their sytematic long-term plan, will pay off.

For fans itching to see how this bold entry unfolds, 2026 cannot come quickly enough.