A filmmaker with a soft spot for Ronnie Peterson, Gilles Villeneuve, Mika Hakkinen and above all, Tazio Nuvolari and Ayrton Senna, is also a diehard Formula One fan since the age of 4 (mid-90's). An avid researcher of the past of Grand Prix Racing since before it was even named F1, and with a thirst for knowledge of the ins and outs of the actuality of the sport, as well as for the technical aspects that define it, is a member of GPblog since 2023, where he has put his love of racing to good use.
Valtteri Bottas has revealed he is already undertaking some work for Cadillac ahead of the team's debut in 2026.
There's obviously still lots of work to do but what I've seen so far has been impressive and gives me more confidence for the future.- Valtteri Bottas
With Bottas' contract with Mercedes running until the end of 2025, he is set to join Cadillac on 1 January, 2026. Until then, however, although Bottas enjoys some allowances by Mercedes a 2025 test is out of the question, GPblog could confirm recently.
Nevertheles, the Finn discloses that his work for Cadillac has already begun- In fact, there's not only been conversations between Bottas and his new employer, but also between both team principals at Cadillac and Mercedes, Graeme Lowdon and Toto Wolff respectively.
He said to Crash.net: "Mercedes has been really supportive on the transition, so I don't think they're going to block me in any way.
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“There's been already discussions between me and Cadillac with online meetings and stuff like that, which I'm allowed to do and that's fine."
Cadillac F1 CEO Dan Towriss and Cadillac F1 Team Principal Graeme Lowdon in Monza - Photo: RacePictures.
If anyone understands Cadillac's current situation in Mercedes. The German team absorbed many of the staff of the racing outfit they were previously known as, Brawn GP: a double-title winner built over a winter.
Thus, Mercedes is supportive of Cadillac's and will gladly acommodate the American team.
Bottas said: "Everyone understands that there's a lot of work to do and there's already some driver feedback that they need for certain things.
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"Obviously, I'll start with Cadillac in January, but there will be a few things I could do here and there before that.”
Bottas added: “I think simulator stuff, I think that’s something actually Mercedes and Cadillac are going to speak [about] this weekend. So I can let you know later.”
Photo: Cadillac media.
Bottas then stated he'd already visited Cadillac's Silverstone's base of operations, and was pleasantly surprised by what he encountered.
He continued: “Yeah. I didn't actually expect everything to be that advanced. But I guess they started quite a while ago."
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“There's obviously still lots of work to do but what I've seen so far has been impressive and gives me more confidence for the future,” Bottas concluded.
Cadillac entry prompts key qualifying format change
With Cadillac set to join the grid in 2026, should the format remain as is, then 12 drivers would make it to Q3. Now, an adjustment has made to the regulation surrounding the number of drivers that are set to face elimination in Q1 and Q2, seeing an increase from 5 to 6 fallen drivers per session.
Cadillac has also been hard at work recruiting key personnel as well as announcing its reserve driver roster who are helping incumbent Cadillac driver Sergio Perez deliver the fastest possible race car for the 2026 F1 season opener in Australia.
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