Bottas admits he does not know his Cadillac future as Herta clears Super Licence hurdle
Photo: Race Pictures
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Valtteri Bottas has admitted he does not know whether Colton Herta's new FIA Super Licence changes his own future at Cadillac. Days earlier, the Finn said he was convinced nothing had changed.
Herta earned the last point he needed in FP1 at Interlagos. He drove 30 laps, comfortably beyond the 100 kilometres the rules require for his 40th Super Licence point. The American is now eligible to race in Formula 1. Sergio Perez is confirmed at Cadillac through to 2029, so the open question is the second seat, which Bottas currently holds.
"Normally nothing should change for the future," Bottas said when asked about Herta's licence, "but there's obviously good effort in giving him the Super Licence. I can understand, you know, it's now or never for him to get the licence. But for the future, I don't know."
Bottas changes his tone on Cadillac's board decision
That is a clear shift from the Thursday press conference in Brazil, held before Herta's practice run. There, Bottas said he had been surprised by "the amount of noise" around his seat and that all he had heard was that the team was happy with his work. He also explained that no decision on 2027 could be made yet.
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The way our team is structured and the way decisions are made for the future, everything needs to be approved by the board. And I believe that meeting is still yet to happen. I've been convinced nothing has changed.- Valtteri Bottas at Interlagos
Bottas joined Cadillac on a multi-year contract for the team's debut season and Cadillac boss Dan Towriss had previously backed Bottas, saying the team was happy with his contribution and in no hurry to decide.
Cadillac went to great lengths to get Herta licensed
Cadillac entered the 26-year-old in Formula 2 with Hitech this season and gave him six FP1 sessions. Bottas noted the urgency: 30 of Herta's points came from finishing second in IndyCar in 2024. The licence should have come in Mexico, but an error in IndyCar's published 2025 standings left him one point short.
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Herta's F2 campaign has not been a strong argument for him, and he sits in 19th on 26 points. In the Interlagos session, his best lap was 0.904s slower than Bottas. He is not the only candidate either. Mercedes reserve Frederik Vesti has publicly applied for the seat.
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Perez holds the upper hand over Bottas
Neither Cadillac driver has scored a point this season, and Perez has had the better of his teammate 11-9 in Grand Prix qualifying and 14-4 in races. Reliability has also counted against Bottas, he has had 10 retirements for him before the Brazil weekend, against five for Perez, including an apparent suspension failure in Mexico City. Until the board meets, Bottas can only wait.
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