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Cadillac have just announced their decision to hand Formula 1 drives to Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas for the 2026 season.
After one year each away from the paddock, they will be returning with Formula 1’s newest addition, in a bid to help them close the gap to their rivals as quickly as possible.
It’s going to take time for Cadillac to become competitive, but they have opted for experience in their pursuit of performance.
Perez and Bottas combine for over 500 Grand Prix starts, and have experience within title-winning operations over the last few years. They’re aware of what it takes to win.
Perez’s Cadillac contract talks were complicated by an outside factor due to his connections with Carlos Slim, who sponsors rival driver Franco Colapinto.
Cadillac risk making one big mistake by opting not to sign a young driver or rookie heading into the 2026 F1 regulations. It feels like a very short-term vision.
Cadillac have made the perfect choice signing Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas for 2026
Cadillac were ‘talking about’ snubbing Perez, but they have settled upon what will be the oldest pairing in the sport at a combined age of 71, four years ahead of Ferrari, who will be the second-oldest.
But there’s more to their decision than meets the eye. Due to both drivers not being on the current grid, they can get to work almost immediately on preparing for next year. It could help them get ahead of the curve a great deal.
In signing Bottas and Perez, they now have two drivers that have scored the most points in the sport’s history without winning a championship.
From a midfield perspective, they might feel as if they’ve struck gold. Cadillac’s ‘main mission’ for Perez in 2026 is to develop their car, rather than achieve results.
They’re comfortable with the idea that it might take time before they can be within reach of consistently scoring points. It does for most new teams.
READ MORE: Why Valtteri Bottas won’t now serve his pending five-place grid penalty if he joins Cadillac in 2026
Did Cadillac make the right decision to sign Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas?
Cadillac were told they should’ve taken a ‘gamble’ and signed current Formula 2 championship leader Leonardo Fornaroli over Perez for 2026.
He will become just the third driver ever to win Formula 2 immediately after Formula 3 if he can hold onto top spot across the final four events of the season.
Inevitably, rookies will make errors that come at an expense for the team, but Cadillac would have been future-proofing part of their line-up by signing a younger driver.
From a development standpoint, he may not have been too useful, particularly with no prior experience to draw on from older car regulations.
In other words, Cadillac should be able to make a run for the midfield a little sooner with Perez and Bottas, which will be their immediate plan.
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