Toto Wolff responds after Cadillac announces Bottas for 2026 F1 seat

Cadillac will enter F1 as the 11th team on the grid in 2026, and ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, it was announced that Sergio Perez and Bottas will lead their driver lineup. The Mercedes team principal welcomed the Finn back to the grid as a full-time driver, and spoke highly of his qualities. Bottas, in response to the news, shared his excitement with a simple heart emoji on X.

“It is great to see Valtteri regain his place on the F1 grid for next year,” said Toto. "He still has so much to offer as a racing driver and deserves to be lining up in Melbourne for the 2026 season. We will, of course, be sad to see him go. He has played an important role in our team, and his contribution as our Third Driver this year has been exemplary. For now, we will continue that work until the end of the year before wishing him well for next year and beyond,” said Wolff.

In the press release from Cadillac, Bottas himself also responded very happily to his announcement. This is what he had to say about it himself. “Yeah, I think for me, of course, when I kind of tried to do the planning, you know, how to get back to full-time racing, it was definitely the right thing to do. And again, like, big thanks to Mercedes for giving me the opportunity to be in that role, you know, to be heavily involved...," said Bottas. Mercedes have indeed been pivotal to Bottas' continuity in Formula 1. Read here how that came about.