Valtteri Bottas gives five-word answer when asked if he will be driving for Cadillac F1 next season

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Valtteri Bottas may not be on the grid this season, but he’s regularly spotted in the paddock as part of his new role at Mercedes.

F1 rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli has greatly benefited from the experience of Valtteri Bottas in his position as Mercedes reserve driver.

Bottas has been impressed by Antonelli, but he wants to be much more than a mentor going forward.

The Finn has kept himself in the frame for a race seat in Formula 1 in 2026 by being a constant presence at every race.

Alpine have been linked with Bottas as Flavio Briatore is beginning to lose patience with Franco Colapinto.

That would mean an immediate return to action for the 10-time race winner, but there’s another option on the cards.

Cadillac will join Formula 1 next season and are still yet to determine their driver line-up.

Bottas has now responded when asked about the possibility of racing for the American outfit.

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

Valtteri Bottas gives coy answer when asked about racing for Cadillac F1 in 2026

Journalist Joe Saward was asked on the Missed Apex Podcast about which driver is likely to be in Alpine’s second seat after the summer break and simply said: “Whoever has got the most money.

“It’s that cynical, it is. Also, I had a long chat with Valtteri this weekend, and I said to him… he doesn’t [have money], but he’s got x number of Grand Prix wins, and he’s got a great mullet and he’s got a good brand.

“And we were just chatting and I said, ‘Are you going to go to Cadillac?’ because that’s one of the rumours, and he said, ‘I don’t know, we’ll see,’ but right now, where he is is the right place to be.

“If there’s a banana skin and George slips on it, Valtteri gets in, and that’s the best place to be because the other options are not great.

“So, if you go to Cadillac, great, you’re at the back of the grid, what more do you want?”

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

Valtteri Bottas keeping his options open but mustn’t fall into the same trap as last season in the F1 driver market

The reason that Bottas is currently a reserve driver at Mercedes and not on the grid is quite simple.

Last year’s F1 driver market was crazy, with dozens of moving parts in the paddock determining the line-up of each team.

Carlos Sainz was the most in-demand free agent on the market, with Alpine, Sauber and Williams among the teams trying to sign him.

The problem Bottas had was that he was the second choice to Sainz for all of these teams, and when Sauber decided to bring in rookie Gabriel Bortoleto alongside Nico Hulkenberg, he suddenly found himself out of options.

Both Cadillac and Alpine wanting to sign Bottas is a positive sign for the 35-year-old.

However, he needs to decide sooner rather than later which option he prefers and commit, otherwise he could find himself missing out once again.