Cadillac reveal Valterri Bottas and Sergio Perez will be their driving line-up for debut F1 2026 season

We’re almost two thirds of the way through the 2025 Formula One campaign but a big announcement has happened ahead of next year’s installment.

There will be a new team on the grid for 2026 with Cadillac joining the paddock and on Tuesday afternoon they revealed their driver line-up for their debut campaign.

And the American-based team have gone for experience in choosing veteran pair Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez – who are both 35-years-old.

The duo are both multiple race winners, have more than 500 starts between them and were championship runners-up alongside two of the sport’s all-time greats Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton.

However, neither are racing this year after both were dropped at the end of last season – although Bottas is a reserve driver for Mercedes.

Cadillac: ‘Experience is really what we need’

‘We believe their experience, their leadership and their technical acumen are really what we need,’ CEO Dan Towriss said on Tuesday.

‘It’s the right combination, the right drivers at the right time, and we’re humbled by their belief in us in this project.’

Perez, a six-time race winner, and Bottas, who took 10 victories for Mercedes, are also share a combined 106 podium appearances.

Towriss said Perez in particular was keen to put ‘in the rearview mirror’ his last season with Red Bull when he suffered a dramatic slump in performance.

‘We had questions, we had scepticism… and he answered all of our questions, passed our tests with flying colours,’ he added.

Valtteri Bottas: Racing for Cadillac is a ‘long-term vision’

Meanwhile, Bottas can’t wait to get started with Cadillac.

‘This isn’t just a racing project; it’s a long-term vision,’ he said.

‘It’s not every day that you get a chance to be part of something being built from the ground up and helping shape it into something that truly belongs on the F1 grid.

‘I’ve had the honor of working with some of the best teams in the world, and I can already see the same professionalism and hunger here.’