Wolff “greets” Bottas: “He deserved to return to F1, he still has a lot to offer”
Bottas to Cadillac, Wolff applauds
After a year on the sidelines, Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez are preparing to return to the Formula 1 grid with Cadillac in 2026. For Checo, the path is more straightforward, as the Mexican driver is currently not tied to any team and can work freely with the Americans. The situation is more complex for Bottas, who remains Mercedes’ official reserve driver.
At least based on Toto Wolff’s latest comments published on the team’s official website, Mercedes does not appear willing to release the Finn before the end of the season, despite his future plans with Cadillac. This means that Bottas will have to remain at Brackley for the rest of 2025 before fully committing to his new adventure in 2026.
Toto Wolff’s words
“For now we will continue working together until the end of the year, before wishing him all the best for next year and beyond,” said the Austrian, repeating once again the respect he holds for his former race driver.
“It is fantastic to see Valtteri reclaim his place on the Formula 1 grid for next year. He still has a lot to offer as a driver and deserves to be on the starting grid in Melbourne for the 2026 season. Obviously, we will be sad to see him go. He has played an important role in our team and his contribution as third driver this year has been exemplary.”
For Bottas, however, it would be crucial to start working closely with Cadillac as soon as possible, especially in the upcoming months when the American team will simulate race weekends and carry out some TPC tests. For this reason, at least in the initial stages, the workload may mainly fall on Sergio Perez while Bottas waits to be free from his Mercedes commitments.
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