Rumours: Valtteri Bottas set for F1 comeback with Cadillac
22nd August 2025Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas is poised to return to Formula 1 as reports suggest that the Finnish driver is set to join the Cadillac F1 Team in 2026.
Feature image credit: Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1
The Finnish driver had driven for Kick Sauber until the end of last year, finishing the season pointless as his then-teammate, Guanyu Zhou, took home the team’s only set of points in Qatar.
Following the end of the season, he joined Mercedes as the team’s reserve driver, having occupied their seats with George Russell and Kimi Antonelli.
Reports now suggest, according to The Race, that Bottas will return to the grid in 2026 with the incoming 11th team: Cadillac.
If this turns out to be true, Bottas could be lined up against former Red Bull driver Sergio Perez, who has also been suggested to join the team next season.
Both drivers boast vital F1 experience and are known race winners.
Bottas had driven for Sauber more recently, but he more notably took home 10 race victories for Mercedes and helped the team secure five world constructors’ championships alongside Lewis Hamilton from 2017 to 2021.
On the other hand, Perez – six-time race winner – had spent the last four years working alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull. The Mexican helped the team achieve two world titles in 2022 and 2023, and secured Red Bull’s first-ever 1-2 in the drivers’ standings.
It has not been confirmed when, or if, the team will make an announcement, but it reportedly could be as soon as the F1 season resumes, if the deals are finalised.
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Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
