Kimi Antonelli sends message to Valtteri Bottas after his Cadillac 2026 F1 seat is confirmed

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Valtteri Bottas has found a way back onto the grid with Cadillac for the 2026 Formula 1 season.

Cadillac confirmed on Tuesday that Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez would be their first driver pairing on the F1 grid next season.

It means that after just one year, Bottas’ reunion with Mercedes is set to come to an end.

When Bottas’ difficult 2024 campaign came to an end, Sauber decided to sign rookie Gabriel Bortoleto to partner Nico Hulkenberg this season.

The 35-year-old failed to score a point last year, with Sauber only getting off the mark thanks to Zhou Guanyu’s P9 finish at the Qatar Grand Prix.

It meant Toto Wolff was able to organise a reunion with Bottas, after he spent five seasons as Lewis Hamilton’s teammate at Mercedes.

One of Bottas’ roles as Mercedes’ reserve driver was to help Andrea Kimi Antonelli get up to speed during his rookie F1 campaign.

Now, the Italian teenager has sent a message to Bottas as he prepares to race against the 10-time race winner in 2026.

READ MORE: Cadillac driver Valtteri Bottas’ life outside F1 from girlfriend to wine and gin

Kimi Antonelli congratulates Valtteri Bottas after signing for Cadillac in 2026

Bottas posted on his Instagram just before the announcement was official, accompanied by an American flag emoji.

The photo showed Bottas riding a surfboard, holding an American flag in one hand, and a drink in the other.

Reacting to the news, Antonelli sent a message across several Instagram stories, and he said: 

Antonelli: “Congrats on the news, mate!”

“Good luck on the next adventure.”

“Let’s keep pushing until the end of the year.”

Bottas will know all of Antonelli’s strengths and weaknesses, having worked closely with him since the start of pre-season.

The dream for the Finnish driver will be that he’s close enough to race Antonelli during his first season back on the grid, although that looks very unlikely.

READ MORE: Know all about 2025 Mercedes F1 driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli including stats

Alex Brundle tells Cadillac they made the ‘right call’ with Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Antonelli

Pundit and racing driver Alex Brundle posted on Instagram story in response to the news and said: “From what I’m hearing about the program development and the challenge of the reg set for ‘26, I think this is the right call…for them.

“From a sporting (F2 partisan) perspective, I’d love to see a youngster/USA star get a shot.

“But I think the team will benefit from known quantities.”

Bottas has been surprised by Antonelli behind the scenes this season, with the 19-year-old outperforming expectations at times this year.

His pole position in Miami and podium finish at the Canadian Grand Prix have been the obvious highlights.

Bottas helped coach Antonelli through the Japanese Grand Prix when he was initially struggling during the first sessions of the weekend.

He won’t be able to rely on that advice for much longer, but he has clearly made a big impact on the Italian’s burgeoning career.