Cadillac issue damning response to shock Valtteri Bottas F1 axe rumours

Cadillac team principal Graeme Lowdon has categorically dismissed rumours that he is prepared to axe Valtteri Bottas.

After just five grands prix this season, speculation arose that the Finn was in danger of losing his seat, predominantly as a result of his performances to date in contrast to team-mate Sergio Perez.

The suggestion was that despite the fact both Bottas and Perez had returned to F1 after each enduring a year on the sidelines, it was the former who was struggling to adapt.

Speaking to RacingNews365 in addressing the speculation, Lowdon said: "There is no foundation, no truth in any of the rumours at all. I can categorically say that.

"Where do I start on the rumours themselves? I'll make it really, really clear: factually, they're completely incorrect. There's no basis of truth whatsoever in any of them.

"Secondly, if we look at the job that both drivers are doing, they're doing way more than drivers in some of the teams are having to do, because we're constructing the team while we're racing at the same time, and that's a very unusual task.

"So, with all due respect, the outside world doesn't know what we're asking these drivers to do, either session to session or race to race, and also, what we're asking them to do in terms of developing the car.

"It's clear that we're trying to get more pace into the car, although I have to say that, similar rumours before we even started racing suggested that we'd struggle to get within 107 per cent of qualifying.

"It was just a few fractions of a per cent in Montreal where we missed out on advancing in sprint race qualifying again, so there's no foundation of truth, but there's no logic either to what anybody's saying."

Lowdon has been left astounded by the reports going so far as to claim that Cadillac was considering replacing Bottas with its reserve driver, Colton Herta, despite the fact the American does not have the required FIA super licence to compete in F1.

"Also, in terms of rumours, and to be honest, I haven't read all of them, but a few that I have read just don't even seem to take into account some of the absolute basic rules of Formula 1," he said.

"Some of them suggest that we would put Colton in to replace Valtteri in the next few races, or whatever, and Colton doesn't have enough super license points, and to some extent, that probably says it all about the quality of some of the rumours.

"I prefer not to focus on pointing out the obvious. I think the fans can see through all of that.

"Colton has a programme that he's working to; Checo has a programme with us that he's working to, and Valtteri the same, and they're all contributing in their own way to what we're trying to do in establishing the Cadillac Formula 1 team.

"But it's very important to make it abundantly clear that there is absolutely not one shred of actual truth or evidence to any of the rumours suggesting that either Valtteri's seat is at risk, or indeed, that Checo might go to another team."