© Jerome Miron/Imagn
Has the new Cadillac Formula 1 team found its first driver for the 2026 season? Speculation is still rampant surrounding the new entrant, but fan favorite driver Valtteri Bottas has seemingly risen to the forefront.
Recent reports suggest that the American team, which will join the grid in 2026 after a long and arduous process, is looking to add experienced drivers for its inaugural season. Among those names discussed were former Red Bull drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Sergio Perez as well as Ferrari reserve driver Zhou Guanyou and ex-Ferrari academy product Mick Schumacher.
Each of those drivers has former Formula 1 experience, but it’s Bottas’ name that is gaining the most traction. And the charismatic Finn did little to quell those rumors on social media.
The 35-year-old posted a video on both Instagram and X of him walking up to a Cadillac Escalade and talking about how nice of a seat it has. When a voice in the background asks Bottas is he wants to get in the seat, he answers simply, “Not yet.”
Obviously, the implication is that he will be filling the Cadillac “seat” in F1 in 2026 and that he will sit in it later, but is holding off for the time being.
Bottas would be a strong addition for the fledgling American team. He established himself as one of the top drivers in the series with the Williams team early in his career before joining powerhouse Mercedes to team with seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton. Bottas finished second in the F1 drivers standings twice with Mercedes and collected nine victories with the team, including four in the 2019 season. Those nine victories are the most of any driver currently connected with the Cadillac seat.
It also doesn’t hurt his case that Bottas is one of the most popular drivers in the series in recent years. He’s active on social media and a dream partner for any potential team sponsors.
Maybe Cadillac goes in another direction and Bottas is just trolling. But it sure seems as if he knows something the rest of us do not.