EXCLUSIVE: Valtteri Bottas speaks to The Express about his new team’s project.

Valtteri Bottas is starting a new chapter of his F1 career with Cadillac (Image: Getty)

Valtteri Bottas insists newcomers Cadillac will rip up the unwritten rule for all Formula 1 drivers this year. Given car performance is such a significant factor in results, the first rule for any racer hoping to keep their seat is to beat their team-mate – the only person against whom they can truly be assessed.

Bottas is paired with fellow F1 veteran Sergio Perez for 2026, both thrown a lifeline by Cadillac after a year off the grid. But the flying Finn, 36, is adamant they will be the only drivers on the grid who aren’t out to get one over each other. “One big reason the team decided on us – they know that we can work together,” Bottas told Express Sport.

“They know that we can put the team first, that we’re not wasting energy and focusing on each other. We need to put all our energy into the team. That’s important, especially in the first steps of a new team. So I think that completely makes sense for me in terms of the driver pairing.”

Both confirmed last summer, Perez was able to start working with his new colleagues straight away, while Bottas had Mercedes duties to fulfil as their reserve driver. Perez tested an old Ferrari last year and then Cadillac’s first car earlier this month, before Bottas finally got the chance to get out on track at this week’s Barcelona shakedown.

Having initially worried that his F1 career might have been over, after he was told by Sauber that he would not be retained beyond the 2024 season, Bottas says he was always confident he would get back on the grid. He said: “For a short moment, there was of course this doubt. But then, pretty quickly, I was committed to, ‘I’m not done yet and I’m going to find a way to get back’. And that’s what happened in the end, so it’s pretty cool.”

Bottas attended all 24 races in 2025, always on call in case Mercedes needed to call upon him. They didn’t, George Russell and Kimi Antonelli fit for every round, but it was not wasted effort for the 10-time Grand Prix winner who sees the experience as invaluable.

Bottas will partner fellow F1 veteran Sergio Perez this season (Image: Getty)

He explained: “I’ve now properly seen how the team actually operates in all areas, what all the people do here. I have much more capacity to just look around, instead of just looking at the data and driving the car. I’ve learned a lot about how the team is actually run.

“I think it can help me in the future. My scope is much wider, I would say 95 percent wider than what I used to have. I think that’s going to help me, case by case. I think it has made me a more complete driver as well, having that kind of knowledge.”

New regulations for the 2026 season make it difficult to predict what the next 11 months holds for any team, let alone Cadillac who have started from scratch. Last summer, team principal Graeme Lowdown said any other outfit will be “apoplectic” if they are beaten by the newcomers this year.

For Bottas, the only expectation is to be on the grid at the first race in early March – and then to develop in a positive direction.
He said: “It should be on the grid in Melbourne. That’s step one! It’s so hard to set certain goals for results for the beginning of the year. It’s so hard to put it on paper because there’s so many variables with the new regs and we need to be realistic.

“It’s not going to be about where we start, it’s where we get to and how quickly. It’s going to be hard work initially. [The rate of development] is the main thing. We just need to have a reliable car for the first part and then go from there.”