Cadillac’s driver search has taken longer than Formula 1 fans might have expected. The halfway point of the 2025 season has passed, and neither seat has been filled.
The team are relaxed about the situation. Their priority is building a competitive car for their debut race in Melbourne next March.
What’s more, the rest of the Formula 1 driver market is largely quiet. That means, for the most part, they don’t have to worry about their candidates being snapped up by other teams.
US basesCharlotte, Michigan, North CarolinaUK baseSilverstoneTeam principalGraeme LowdonTechnical directorNick ChesterEngineFerrariDriversTBAThe key details about the Cadillac F1 project
Initially, the thinking was that Cadillac wanted one experienced driver and one youngster, potentially an American. But they may now have ditched that blueprint.
Cadillac choose Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas after lengthy driver search
Speaking on F1TV’s ‘Weekend Warm-Up’ show ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, journalist Lawrence Barretto suggested that Cadillac are now intent on signing two veterans – Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas.
Between them, they’ve contested well over 500 Grands Prix, won 16 races and scored 106 podiums. Bottas is currently the reserve driver for Mercedes after losing his Sauber seat, while Perez is a free agent following his Red Bull pay-off at the end of last year.
Barretto stresses that neither Perez nor Bottas have agreed on a contract, nor is an announcement thought to be imminent. But the direction of travel is clear.
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Bottas has received an offer from Alpine to replace the embattled Franco Colapinto. But he may use that as leverage to extract a better salary from F1’s new arrival.
“The more likely landing spot for him is Cadillac,” Barretto said of Lewis Hamilton’s former teammate. “I hear that they haven’t got any contracts done, not even any ahead of terms, but Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas are the two drivers that they want at that team.
“It’s just a case of them going through the motions with it. It might be some time until we find that out. Obviously, there is still some time for that to change, but that’s where we’re looking I think.
“That’s where I think it’s going, which makes sense because Valtteri could maybe use the Alpine interest to maybe get a better deal. They want experience, and those two drivers offer that in bags.”
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For Bottas, this decision may be seen as a surprise. Alpine are an established team who will be racing with Mercedes power units – widely billed as the industry leaders – next year.
However, there has also been chaos at Enstone of late, with multiple personnel changes inside and outside the garage. That may have put Bottas off.
On Perez’s side, Cadillac have offered him a lifeline. He’s decided that he isn’t finished with F1, refusing to let his ignominious Red Bull exit be his final chapter.
Ironically, there are rumours that Cadillac are in talks with Christian Horner, the very man who gave Perez a new deal before letting him go. That could make for an awkward reunion.
If indeed Cadillac have made their decision, it’s bad news for a whole host of drivers, including Mick Schumacher, Zhou Guanyu, Jack Doohan and Felipe Drugovich.