Valtteri Bottas

Valtteri Bottas, born on August 28, 1989 in Nastola, is a Finnish Formula 1 driver who returns to the grid in 2026 with Cadillac, where he teams up with Sergio Perez.

Bottas makes his return to Formula 1 in 2026 as part of the new Cadillac F1 Team. Together with Perez, he forms an experienced driver line-up for the eleventh team on the grid. Cadillac will use Ferrari power units.

After Sauber opted for Gabriel Bortoleto, Bottas was without a race seat in 2025. He returned to Mercedes as a reserve driver. In August, it was announced that he would make his comeback in Formula 1 with Cadillac. From that moment, he combined duties for both Mercedes and Cadillac.

Like many Finnish drivers before him, Bottas built his reputation through consistent performances. After a difficult Formula 3 season in 2009, he still stood out by winning the Masters of Formula 3 in Zandvoort in both 2009 and 2010. This earned him a role as a test driver for Williams.

He also competed in GP3 with ART, where he won the championship. In 2013, he made his Formula 1 debut with Williams.

Alongside Pastor Maldonado, Bottas quickly proved to be the stronger driver. In 2014, with Felipe Massa as his new teammate, he secured multiple podiums and finished fourth in the championship.

Williams remained competitive in the years that followed, but 2016 was disappointing. Despite that, Bottas received an opportunity to move to Mercedes.

After Nico Rosberg retired following his 2016 title, Mercedes signed Bottas as his replacement alongside Lewis Hamilton.

In his first season, Bottas won three races and finished third in the championship. In the years that followed, he often played a supporting role to Hamilton, including team orders that cost him a potential win in Russia.

In 2019, he showed strong form early in the season, but Hamilton ultimately dominated. The same pattern continued in 2020.

In 2021, Bottas entered his fifth season with Mercedes, but increasing pressure and strong competition from Max Verstappen and Red Bull led to doubts about his future.

Despite finishing third in the championship, Mercedes decided to replace him with George Russell for 2022.

Bottas moved to Alfa Romeo in 2022, partnering rookie Guanyu Zhou. In a less pressured environment, he played a key role in developing the team and helped secure sixth place in the constructors’ championship.

From 2024, the team rebranded to Stake Sauber as part of its transition towards Audi in 2026.

As part of Sauber’s transition, major changes were made. Nico Hulkenberg was signed, and the team opted for a new line-up.

Instead of keeping Bottas, Sauber chose young talent Gabriel Bortoleto, who joined the team in 2025. Bottas returned to Mercedes as a reserve driver.

In August 2025, Cadillac confirmed its driver line-up for 2026: Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas. Both bring extensive experience from top teams and are expected to help build the new project.

Bottas is expected to earn around 10 million dollars per year at Cadillac, similar to his previous salary at Mercedes. His net worth is estimated at around 30 million dollars.

Bottas has been in a relationship with cyclist Tiffany Cromwell since 2020. He was previously married to Emilia Pikkarainen, with whom he divorced in 2019. He has no children.

Valtteri Bottas was born on August 28, 1989 in Nastola, Finland. He is 36 years old, 1.73 metres tall and weighs 69 kilograms.