By Alan Baldwin
LONDON (Reuters) -Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas will be back on the Formula One starting grid next season after Cadillac announced the signing of the experienced race winners as the team’s debut driver pairing.
The Mexican and Finn both have multi-year deals, the General Motors-backed outfit said on Tuesday without providing further details.
Perez, a six-times race winner, and Bottas, who took 10 victories for Mercedes, are both 35 and have unfinished business after being dropped by the Red Bull and Sauber teams respectively in 2024.
The announcement was expected, although some younger prospects had been touted.
“We believe their experience, their leadership and their technical acumen are really what we need,” team CEO Dan Towriss told reporters in a video call.
“It’s the right combination — the right drivers at the right time — and we’re humbled by their belief in us in this project.”
Both spent years alongside two of the sport’s greats, Perez with four times world champion Max Verstappen at Red Bull and Bottas as sidekick to seven times champion Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes.
They also have more than 500 race starts between then — Perez 281 and Bottas 246 — and 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.
Cadillac, who will use Ferrari power units until 2029 when General Motors hopes to have its own, face a steep learning curve as the 11th team at the start of a new engine era.
Perez and Bottas — the latter serving as Mercedes reserve this season — both said they were excited to be starting afresh.
“This isn’t just a racing project; it’s a long-term vision. 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,” said Bottas.
“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.”
Cadillac will be the fifth team of Perez’s career, not including Racing Point which was a continuation of Force India under another name, and the Mexican looked forward to writing another chapter.
“I’m proud to be part of such an ambitious and meaningful project from the very beginning,” he said. “Together I believe we can help shape this team into a real contender.”
Team principal Graeme Lowdon trumpeted a “bold signal of intent” for a U.S. team that ultimately wants to have at least one American driver and be challenging for wins and championships.
“They’ve seen it all and they know what it takes to succeed in Formula One. But more importantly, they understand what it means to help build a team,” he said.
“Their leadership, feedback, race-hardened instincts and of course their speed will be invaluable as we bring this team to life.”
Towriss and General Motors president Mark Reuss recognised Mexico was a major market for the carmaker but said commercial considerations had not been a factor in driver selection.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Toby Davis)
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