Explained: Three reasons why Cadillac F1 signed Bottas and Perez

After months of speculation, the cat is finally out of the bag: Cadillac F1 has signed Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez as its drivers for the F1 2026 season.

Experience is clearly a major reason for Cadillac’s decision, but what exactly does “experience” means to the all-new team?

Bottas and Perez have seen it all

Both Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez have competed for a variety of Formula 1 teams during their time in the sport — both big and small — which means they’ve seen it all.

Perez entered F1 as a driver in 2011, with Bottas following behind in 2013. Much has changed over that decade and a half. Formula 1 has changed leadership, and new owners Liberty Media have transformed the sport into a major commercial success that has taken over some of F1’s long-coveted demographics: Americans, young fans, and women.

Now, F1 drivers have become international celebrities, many of whom have leaned into the popularity to develop their own sponsorships and companies.

Both drivers have seen teams fail and fold — and in fact, they’ve raced for those teams. They’ve seen eras of dominance change hands — and have experienced that dominance as a member of the top-tier team.

They’ve seen events, teams, brands, and manufacturers come and go. They’ve seen the introduction of hybrid power units, cost caps, and sprint races. They lived through the most recent death to take place on the Formula 1 track. They’ve bid adieu to some of F1’s most legendary drivers. They’ve witnessed the changing of the guard in the FIA.

But what does that have to do with Cadillac? Well, that’s simple: Bottas and Perez have seen what works and what doesn’t. They understand the inner workings of the paddock and the expectations weighing on a driver’s shoulders. And they know exactly how to help turn Cadillac into a truly respected member of the Formula 1 paddock — all while navigating the introduction of 2026’s transformative regulatory change.

More on Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas at Cadillac:

? Revealed: Valtteri Bottas’s first words after Cadillac F1 2026 move confirmed

? Sergio Perez sets one clear Cadillac F1 target after F1 2026 return announced

Bottas and Perez know what it takes to succeed in F1

Another thing Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez have in common? The understanding of what it takes to succeed in Formula 1, from all angles.

Perez entered F1 in 2011 with Sauber, a midfield team that celebrated scoring points like a victory. In his second year with the team, he secured three podiums.

His brief stint at McLaren left much to be desired, and saw him land at Force India, then mired in the midfield. The team faced major financial troubles, with Perez forcing it into administration, saving hundreds of jobs as Lawrence Stroll swooped in to acquire the operation. In return, the revitalised team provided the Mexican driver with a car capable of winning the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix.

When Perez moved to Red Bull Racing the following year, he got a taste of what it was like to compete for a championship winning team — for better and for worse.

Bottas’ F1 journey began with Williams in 2013, where the Finn spent most of the season struggling to score even a single point. The next year, with six podiums to his name, he rocketed up to fourth overall in the drivers’ championship standings. And when Nico Rosberg retired after winning the 2016 championship, Bottas was brought in to play a critical supporting role alongside championship favourite Lewis Hamilton.

But Bottas also made the move to Sauber. While it was something of an ill-fated move performance-wise, it presented an opportunity to understand what it’s like to compete for a struggling team in F1’s modern era.

A significant part of knowing how to succeed is also knowing how to push through adversity, and Bottas and Perez have done that many times before.

Bottas and Perez understand what it means to build a team

Given their experience, Bottas and Perez understand exactly what it takes to succeed in F1, and can play a vital role in helping shape a new organisation in that image.

From the outside, motorsport is intensely focused on the drivers, but there’s much that goes on behind the scenes. A team is an intricately choreographed affair that requires hundreds of people working in unison to even make it to the race track: Engineers, mechanics, communications personnel, designers, support staff, and so much more. No one understands that quite like a driver; the central focus of those collective efforts.

All of these people need to work together without conflict. They need to speak the same language — or find other ways to communicate when they’re struggling to understand.

In Perez and Bottas, Cadillac has signed drivers who know the value of development work, testing, clear and concise feedback, and quick improvements. They know how to advocate for themselves, and they’ll have ideas as to why a car may not be performing the way it should.

Of the other drivers on Cadillac’s shortlist, Bottas and Perez stood head and shoulders clear in those three key areas. They were the only two who truly understand how to knit all the varying threads of an F1 team together into one cohesive unit, and that alone justifies their signing.

Read next: Cadillac boss assures Bottas, Perez signing about ‘way, way more’ than experience