Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas tipped as lead driver choices for Cadillac F1

Formula 1 journalists Lawrence Barretto and James Hinchcliffe have discussed the possible driver line-up for the Cadillac F1 team, set to make its debut in the championship in 2026. The pair have backed former Red Bull driver Sergio Perez and Mercedes reserve driver Valtteri Bottas as the best options for the American team, claiming that "they need that experience."

Cadillac will join the F1 grid in 2026 in line with the new wave of regulations, and although the team's preparations are in full swing, a driver line-up is yet to be announced.

Barretto and Hinchcliffe have put their weight behind Perez and Bottas and have also discussed the possibility of Mick Schumacher joining the team.

Sergio Perez

The Mexican driver was replaced at Red Bull at the end of 2024 by Liam Lawson, who stepped into the RB21 seat alongside Max Verstappen for 2025 but was replaced by Yuki Tsunoda after two race weekends. In addition to his four-year stint with the Milton Keynes outfit, Perez has previously driven for Sauber, McLaren and Force India after making his debut in 2011. 

The 35-year-old has been keen to return to the championship after his Red Bull exit, albeit only "for the right project". Over his 14-year career in F1, he collected six grand prix wins, three pole positions, 39 podium finishes, and 12 fastest laps.

Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Erik Junius

“I’ve talked to Checo a couple of times over the last couple of months," Barretto explained to F1.com. "What I can tell you is he is super hungry to come back to Formula 1, for the right project. And I think the reason why Cadillac is so attractive to him is because of everything they are throwing at it.

"And I think he understands that year one isn't going to be the year where he's going to set the world alight. But I think it is an opportunity for him to use the skillset that actually made him so highly rated, which was the way he motivated a team, the way that he could manage tyres, the way that he could develop a car over the course of a season and through the winter.

"I think all of these things are not readily available in Formula 1 from the drivers who are available on the market at the minute. And I think that's why Checo’s name was in the mix so early on and why I think he is going to be in the car. They've got to have him in the car because they need that experience.”

Valtteri Bottas

Bottas is another driver who could bring a wealth of experience to the Graeme Lowdon-led team from 2026 onwards. The Finnish driver made his F1 debut in 2013 with Williams after serving as the test and reserve driver for the Grove outfit since 2010. He moved to Mercedes in 2017 for a successful five-year stint with the Brackley squad, driving alongside seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton. 2021 saw Bottas join Alfa Romeo/Sauber where he stayed for three seasons.

The 35-year-old currently serves as Mercedes reserve driver. Team chief Toto Wolff has also shared his support for Bottas to return to a full-time racing seat.

“I think we need to look holistically at what Cadillac are trying to achieve," Barretto added.

Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images

"And I think they want to hit the ground running as quickly as possible, and they want to find a way for the team to be able to build quite quickly. And I think then you therefore need experience, and I think that Valtteri and Checo together can potentially offer that.

"You've got Valtteri here. He stayed hungry in the paddock. He took this gig as Mercedes reserve. He's thrown himself into all of the social media work that they get him to do. He is available for everything. But he's doing the important stuff. He's in the simulator, he's across all the engineering meetings, he understands the development of the 2026 Mercedes, which I think could be significant.

"He's got immense experience of the Mercedes power unit. He obviously had the Ferrari power unit when he was at Sauber. I'm making a checklist that it's impossible to say no to Valtteri Bottas, and I think that's why those two are the favourites to join that team because I think they need that kind of experience.”

Mick Schumacher

Schumacher has also been linked to the Cadillac team. The German driver previously drove for Haas in 2021 and 2022 before moving to Mercedes to serve as the reserve driver in 2023 and 2024. He now races in the World Endurance Championship with Alpine. Hinchcliffe argued that Schumacher will have grown as a driver since his time in F1 and that it is important that he has stayed "racing sharp" by competing in WEC.

“You know, obviously he's done his two seasons. They weren't the best. I think he's probably as a driver grown since then. He went on to that Mercedes reserve role, learned, I imagine, an awful lot in that position," Hinchcliffe said.

Mick Schumacher, Reserve Driver, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

“I mean, it's exactly what Valtteri is doing now. So, there's something to that position. Then he went back to full-time racing, which I do think is important. I think it's important to stay racing sharp. So, it's not an unappealing option.

"I'm always going to default to the two most experienced guys, if I'm in charge of this programme, but if for whatever reason one of those two doesn't work out, then yeah, it's one to seriously consider because again, natural speed was there.

"If you look at his junior career, it always took him kind of a year and a half to really get up to speed with a car. We saw a little bit of that with Haas, it wasn't quite enough for him to retain that ride. But if he had a long-term project, something he could start fresh with, and you knew that you had the runway to really learn, they're going to most likely not be battling for points first time out. So, there's maybe a little bit less pressure on it. It could be an environment where he could excel.”