Dan Towriss reveals the questions Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez raised during talks with Cadillac

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There are just 10 weeks before the start of Cadillac’s debut season in Formula 1, and CEO Dan Towriss has revealed the concerns that were raised by Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas during their initial talks with the team.

Cadillac’s introduction to the grid marks the first new team since Haas’ entry to Formula 1 in 2016. The timing of the arrival of the brand new constructor coincides with F1’s new era of technical regulations.

One of the biggest question marks over their entry was rooted in the names of the drivers who would lead Cadillac’s charge during their maiden season.

Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas have been given the task, with both drivers set to make a return to a full-time role on the F1 grid after losing their race seats at the end of the 2024 season.

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Dan Towriss reveals the questions that Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez had before they signed for Cadillac

The team, who will benefit from Ferrari power engines in their first few seasons in F1, decided to back the experience that Bottas and Perez bring to the table over signing a young driver who they could nurture into a potential future world champion.

The decision was seen as a masterstroke by some figures within the F1 paddock, and the CEO of the venture, Dan Towriss, has recently revealed how they managed to get the two Grand Prix winners on their side during negotiations.

Speaking on an episode of the F1 Explains podcast, Towriss was asked if any persuasion was necessary in talks, to which he replied, “They had a lot of questions, like what’s going into the project?

“It wasn’t persuasion so much as like, hey, we’re not interested, and talking them into it. But I think they wanted to know what’s behind the project, what are the financial resources?

“Is this built for the long term? What are you doing? And I think, as each driver saw, one, the work that’s already been done, the people that we have on board, and what we’re building, they got very excited about this.

“Valtteri is pumped about his ride with Cadillac Formula 1, as is Checo.”

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Cadillac recently took part in their very first F1 testing session at Imola

Whilst their future on-track rivals have been competing in the 2025 F1 campaign, Cadillac have begun following the necessary steps in order for them to hit the ground running at the start of the 2026 season.

One of those steps saw Sergio Perez test a blacked-out Ferrari F1 car at Imola, which served as a crucial training regime for everyone involved with trackside operations.

Aided by Ferrari staff, Cadillac personnel were briefed on important race-day ongoings that they will need to ace next season if they want to have some sort of a respectable debut season in the sport.

Cadillac’s first outing with their 2026 challenger will likely come in January, where they will be allowed to take part in a filming-day shakedown ahead of their first official test with the rest of the grid in Barcelona.