{"id":338504,"date":"2025-12-10T02:53:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T02:53:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/338504\/"},"modified":"2025-12-10T02:53:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T02:53:13","slug":"f1-news-valtteri-bottas-settles-in-as-cadillac-era-begins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/338504\/","title":{"rendered":"F1 news: Valtteri Bottas settles in as Cadillac era begins"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Bottas
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tValtteri Bottas has had his first day with the Cadillac F1 Team. Image: Cadillac<\/p>\n

The Finn, returning to the grid after spending 2025 as Mercedes\u2019 reserve, has begun preparations at Cadillac\u2019s base in Silverstone, where he underwent an initial seat fit and met team personnel as the operation continues to ramp up for its first season.<\/p>\n

The 10-time grand prix winner with 246 starts to his name, said the moment carried added significance after months of anticipation following his signing earlier this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited to be starting as a Cadillac Formula 1 Team driver \u2013 finally,\u201d he said, calling it \u201ca proud moment\u201d as he begins \u201ca new chapter back on the grid with a team that\u2019s starting its journey in the sport.\u201d<\/p>\n

He acknowledged the scale of the task ahead but believes his experience will be central to Cadillac\u2019s build-up.<\/p>\n

He said he is \u201ckeen to use my experience to help the team now that I\u2019m fully on board,\u201d noting that seeing the early stages of the project come together \u201cmakes you realize the momentum of the project.\u201d<\/p>\n

The team continues to work toward firing up its first F1 car before Christmas, with a shakedown scheduled for January ahead of pre-season testing in Barcelona from 26\u201330 January.<\/p>\n

\t\tWin a 1:12 Erebus Motorsport #1 2024 Bathurst Winner from Authentic Collectables – Enter Now!<\/a><\/p>\n

Cadillac recently borrowed Ferrari\u2019s SF-23 for operational practice at Imola, where Bottas\u2019 2026 team-mate Sergio Perez took part<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Valtteri Bottas during his seat fit at his first day at Cadillac. Image: Cadillac<\/p>\n

For Bottas, he said the early preparations underlined the importance of establishing strong foundations in a team starting from scratch.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to get the preparation right as these moments really are the first steps to getting us ready for the first test,\u201d he said, adding: \u201cI can\u2019t wait to get the season started and go racing once again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Team principal Graeme Lowdon said Bottas\u2019 arrival marked a significant milestone in the operation\u2019s development after months of planning.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great to finally have Valtteri onboard and integrated with the team,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been planning for quite some time now, so it\u2019s fantastic to see these moments happening ahead of our first season on track.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lowdon also praised the collective effort behind Cadillac\u2019s entry.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m proud of all the work everybody is doing in the team,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFormula 1 is the greatest team game in the world and it\u2019s times like this where you see the skills, talent and expertise we have, and how well such a talent like Valtteri will be at home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bottas will partner Perez in Cadillac\u2019s inaugural season, with both drivers set to sample the team\u2019s maiden machine for the first time next month.<\/p>\n

Mullets, motivation and momentum: Inside Cadillac\u2019s F1 project<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Valtteri Bottas has had his first day with the Cadillac F1 Team. Image: Cadillac The Finn, returning to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":338505,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[64,63,62640,817,813,816,85,1512],"class_list":{"0":"post-338504","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-formula-1","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-cadillac-f1","11":"tag-f1","12":"tag-formula-1","13":"tag-formula1","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-valtteri-bottas"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338504","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=338504"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338504\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/338505"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=338504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=338504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=338504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}