Cadillac hopeful of news 'soon' for potential F1 comeback

Valtteri Bottas has hinted that news of Cadillac's F1 driver line-up could come "soon" as he continues to be linked with one of the seats.

The veteran Finn is serving as Mercedes' third driver in 2025 having fallen off the grid at the end of '24 after Stake signed Gabriel Bortoleto, the reigning F2 champion to partner Nico Hulkenberg. 

Bottas has 246 starts and 10 grand prix wins to his name and helped Mercedes to win the constructors' championship between 2017-2021, and is a strong candidate for Cadillac as it enters F1 in 2026 as an all-new team. 

Bottas would also have experience with the Ferrari power units the team will use following his spell with Alfa Romeo and Stake, as he explained why he hopes he is "in a good position" to land one of the two seats.

"I don’t think they’re in a massive rush, they’ve been very, very busy trying to get a car on the grid for next year," Bottas explained of Cadillac's driver situation on F1's Beyond The Grid podcast. 

"I think they have a few drivers on the list. I would imagine my experience will help because now I’ve raced in three different teams, with one of the teams having mega success. With Williams as well, we had some great results, so I hope I’m in a good position.

"I know my timeline, when I want to know about next year and what plans I need to make, which I think is more or less August, which is a pretty good target for that, and hopefully, we’ll hear something more soon.

“For me, I actually see a very interesting project, something new to F1, an American team with maybe a different view to the sport.

"If I were there as a driver, it would be very interesting because you can start from scratch.

"The team starts from zero. You could actually make a big influence on certain things, which direction to go, and that would be very motivating and rewarding when the success comes.

"I think the rule change is always a good point to jump in because you just never know, if you suddenly get it right, you might actually be doing really well from the get-go."

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'Not how I want to finish'

Bottas was expected to remain on the grid as a race driver in 2025, but following a change of heart from Stake, Bortoleto was signed as the team prepares to morph into Audi for 2026, with Hulkenberg filling the 'veteran' seat alongside the Brazilian.

Despite losing his seat, Bottas insists that he was still performing at a high-level in 2024.

"I’m sitting here now without a race seat, not because of my own choice," he added.

"I definitely still feel – and that emotion was quite quick after I knew I wouldn’t get a seat for this year – that I’m not done yet with F1.

"I just feel like the way the last two years went for me in my career, it’s definitely not the way I want things to finish. 

"At the end of last year, in some qualifyings and some races, I felt like I was performing at my best ever.

"I haven’t felt any degradation in myself yet. That’s why I just want to keep going. We humans, we have deg, but I don’t have it yet."