Bottas’ potential teammate: has Sergio Perez really signed with Cadillac?
Who will be the second man next to Valtteri Bottas at Cadillac, the team that will make its debut on the Formula 1 grid in 2026? Sergio Perez is increasingly being mentioned, but is there really a signed deal with the former teammate of Max Verstappen at Red Bull?
The plan is still for Valtteri Bottas to become the first driver of the new Cadillac F1 team. GPblog was able to report a few weeks ago based on multiple involved sources that the Finn had agreed on the terms for a contract, but the signatures had not yet been set. At the moment it is still unknown when these will be written on paper.
There is no reason to doubt Bottas' arrival at Cadillac. The question then is who will be the teammate of the current third driver of Mercedes? The last day there was a story on a British website that Sergio Perez had agreed a contract with Cadillac for 2026.
The suggestion was made that the deal was announced during the weekend of the Italian Grand Prix. Monza is still far away - the second weekend of September - and a lot can happen by that time - especially in Formula 1.
Perez not signed by Cadillac
But GPblog can categorically deny that Perez has signed a contract with the new American team. Even within Cadillac there is sighing and moaning when the rumor from the British website is mentioned.
Cadillac has never made a secret that Perez is on the list of possible candidates. That there are explicit discussions with the Mexican is no secret. Also with Jak Crawford, Felipe Drugovich and Alex Dunne have been spoken to by the team leadership.
Although there were signs that Cadillac preferred to attract a rookie next to an experienced driver, it is of course possible that the Americans decide to choose two experienced men for their first season in F1; Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez.
Although Perez has not signed a contract, it is by no means excluded that he will be signed up at some point.
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