Damon Hill gives his reaction to Cadillac signing Valtteri Bottas after branding him a ‘spare part’ at Mercedes

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Valtteri Bottas will make his Formula 1 comeback with Cadillac in 2026 alongside former Red Bull driver Sergio Perez.

Cadillac finally announced their lineup after weeks of speculation over the summer break, surprising most by not including an American driver.

Although senior management had considered signing American talent, including IndyCar star Colton Herta, they found that they did not have the required number of points to obtain an FIA F1 super licence.

Both Bottas and Perez are experienced pairs of hands, with 27 seasons between them, along with a combined 16 race victories. Bottas has been Mercedes’ third driver since he was not renewed by Sauber, while Perez has been on the sidelines after Red Bull decided to oust him after poor results in 2023.

Reacting to the news on Instagram Stories, 1996 world champion Damon Hill has given his four-word reaction to Cadillac signing Bottas.

Damon Hill gives four-word reaction to Cadillac signing Valtteri Bottas

Bottas has spent his 2025 season acting as the third driver at Mercedes, where he has been overseeing engineering meetings on race weekends and helping Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

Hill previously criticised Bottas for taking on a ‘spare part’ role, feeling that he had more to give to F1 as a driver on the grid when speaking on the F1 Nation podcast.

The 1996 world champion has previous experience himself being a reserve driver at Williams before he was called up to replace Nigel Mansell in 1993.

Reacting to the news that Bottas would be partnering Perez, Hill wrote: “In Bottas we trust.” The comment is likely a reference to the ‘In God we Trust’ inscription that is on the dollar bills in the US.

Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez guarantee Cadillac results

Cadillac also held talks with Mick Schumacher about a return to F1, but ultimately decided against it as they felt both Bottas and Perez could deliver results.

Both drivers are experienced enough to give them a good start, with Cadillac set to be Ferrari customers for the first two years before switching to their own power units in 2028.

Perez does have a patchy record when it comes to crashes, having collided with Kevin Magnussen during the 2024 Monaco GP, which wrote off his Red Bull chassis.

Perez also crashed out of the 2024 Azerbaijan GP when he collided with Carlos Sainz for third place, while Bottas also hit Perez at the 2024 Abu Dhabi GP, which forced both to retire.