Mercedes have now ‘come to an agreement’ with Cadillac over Valtteri Bottas duties ahead of 2026 debut

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Cadillac have announced the signings of Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez ahead of the 2026 Formula 1 season.

There had been plenty of speculation about which two drivers Cadillac would opt for ahead of their maiden F1 campaign.

Team principal Graeme Lowdon couldn’t have chosen two more experienced drivers, who possess more than 500 Grand Prix starts between them.

Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez both have points to prove after losing their seats at Sauber and Red Bull, respectively, last season.

Bottas immediately took up a reserve driver role at Mercedes, returning to the Silver Arrows to help George Russell and rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli this year.

Perez went in the opposite direction, stepping away from racing completely after a damaging final campaign alongside Max Verstappen.

Sauber staff’s feelings about Bottas suggest he’s got to take a step up next year, while Perez’s reputation has only improved when comparing his performances to Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda at Red Bull this year.

Cadillac look set to put Perez straight to work with plenty to do before they make their testing debut in Barcelona next January.

Bottas’ role is complicated by his position at Mercedes, but journalist Laurence Edmondson believes the two teams have now ‘come to an agreement’ for the rest of the year.

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

Mercedes and Cadillac ‘come to an agreement’ over Valtteri Bottas

Edmondson was speaking on the Unlapped Podcast and discussing the next steps for both Cadillac drivers ahead of 2026, he said: “It’s interesting because Valtteri is actually still the Mercedes reserve driver.

“So, I don’t think he can be quite as involved as perhaps he’d want to be. But that’s really just the race weekends.

“It seems like Mercedes have come to an agreement where he can be involved in Cadillac where he needs to be.

“And then the similar question was put to Perez, and he said, well, I’m jobless at the moment. So, all of my time is going to be dedicated to making sure this car is in the best place possible.

“So, you’ve got different simulation tools. There’s CFD, where you’re designing in basically a computer space and you’re understanding what’s going on.

“You’ve got the wind tunnel where you can double-check that. At the moment, Cadillac are using the Toyota wind tunnel in Cologne, which has been used by many teams over the years with some success, some with less success, but it’s certainly a solid platform to be using.

“And then there’s the driver-in-loop simulator. And I think Perez is going to find himself probably more in that than he ever was in the Red Bull one over the next six months because they’re just going to need answers.”

READ MORE: All to know about General Motors’ Cadillac F1 team from engine to drivers

Kimi Antonelli lauds Valtteri Bottas’ impact at Mercedes ahead of Cadillac move

Bottas has been praised for his feedback before, and that’s going to be essential over the first few seasons Cadillac are on the grid.

Although Lowdon’s team have been recruiting heavily from their F1 rivals, they’re still going to have gaps in their knowledge that Bottas and Perez will be required to fill.

One of the main roles Bottas has filled this season has been helping Antonelli get up to speed in Formula 1.

The Italian teenager is highly rated, but has visited plenty of tracks for the first time this year, and experienced a level of fame and notoriety he’s never seen before.

Antonelli sent a message to Bottas once the Cadillac news was confirmed that showed just how important he’s been behind the scenes this season.

While he’ll still be fulfilling some of those duties over the coming months, Antonelli will be preparing for life without the experienced Finn very soon.