The Cadillac Formula One team have signed Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas as drivers for their debut in the sport next season. The choice of two hugely experienced veterans for their initial lineup reflects the scale of the task facing Cadillac in 2026 as F1’s 11th team begins from scratch and enters a hugely competitive field.
The Cadillac team is backed by the manufacturer General Motors in what is expected to be a long-term commitment to reaching the front of the grid, with both Pérez and Bottas given multi-year contracts.
They bring with them no little experience. The Mexican Pérez has competed with five teams including, until the end of last season, alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull. Bottas raced with Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes for five seasons during which the Finn took 10 wins. He began his career in 2013 with Williams and most recently raced with Sauber in 2024. This season he has been the Mercedes reserve driver.
Both drivers were enthusiastic while acknowledging the task that lay ahead.
“This isn’t just a racing project; it’s a long-term vision,” said Bottas. “It’s not every day that you get a chance to be part of something being built from the ground up and helping shape it into something that truly belongs on the F1 grid.
“I’ve had the honour of working with some of the best teams in the world, and I can already see the same professionalism and hunger here.”
Pérez has taken six F1 wins but ended his time at Red Bull on something of a nadir, struggling to handle a wilful car, which has subsequently proved to be an onerous task for everyone who has driven it, including even Verstappen. The 35-year-old had been long expected to be made part of the Cadillac lineup and was eager for a chance to reset with a new outfit next season.
Valtteri Bottas celebrates after winning the Turkish Grand Prix with Mercedes in 2021. Photograph: Dan Istitene/Formula 1/Getty Images
“I’m proud to be part of such an ambitious and meaningful project from the very beginning,” he said. “Together I believe we can help shape this team into a real contender.”
Between them the two drivers boast 500 race starts between them and 106 podium appearances. Both have proved themselves at the front of the field and both have a wealth of experience in bringing a car up to speed and working to develop a team.
The Cadillac entry was confirmed in November last year after GM came on board and committed to building its own engine for 2029, with the team using Ferrari engines until then. However it left little over a year for the team to be ready for lights out in Australia in 2026.
Sergio Pérez celebrates on the podium after winning the Monaco Grand Prix in 2022. Photograph: Daniel Cole/AP
Under the team principal, Graeme Lowdon, they have been expanding exponentially. They have been recruiting, on average, one person a day and are in the process of completing a new headquarters at Fishers in Indianapolis. It will sit alongside their facilities already in operation at Silverstone – the European hub – and the GM works in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they are building the facility to manufacture the new engine.
Lowdon described signing the two veteran drivers, who will have come with a substantial pay package cost, as a “bold statement of intent” that was necessary for a team with ambition to be in the fight for wins as soon as possible.
“They’ve seen it all and they know what it takes to succeed in Formula One. But more importantly, they understand what it means to help build a team,” he said. “Their leadership, feedback, race-hardened instincts and of course their speed will be invaluable as we bring this team to life.”
Mexico is a major market for GM as a car manufacturer but the team insisted commercial considerations had not played a part in their driver selection.