Dan Tauriss: We believe we made the right choice.

      Today Cadillac F1 confirmed its lineup for 2026 – the factory team of the American conglomerate General Motors in Formula 1 will field experienced professionals such as Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez.

      Both can boast having been vice-world champions, but both also have experience working in teams that did not contend for wins and fought only for places in the middle of the pack. Cadillac is unlikely to be able to expect more at the start of its journey, but the people behind the American project understand that well.

      “We believe that Valtteri’s and Perez’s experience, their leadership qualities and technical acumen are the right combination of traits,” the championship’s official website quotes Dan Taurissa, head of TWG Motorsport, who leads GM’s Formula 1 project. “Right now this is the right choice. And we are modestly proud that they believed in us and our project, and we are glad to take this next step with them.

      “There are many excellent drivers, including young and very talented ones. So we had to make a difficult decision. In the end, these two guys stand out from the rest because of their leadership qualities and experience – we decided that this is precisely what we need to move forward.”

      The investments in the Cadillac F1 project are very large-scale: three new team bases are being built and equipped in parallel – two in the US (in the states of Indiana and North Carolina) and another in the UK, in Silverstone. Recruitment continues – in just the next 10 days the staff will be increased by a further 52 specialists.

      Production facilities are being commissioned, a modern simulator is being installed, and a workshop is being built where in 2029 production of their own power units will be established. The scale of the tasks is huge even by GM’s standards, and the leadership of the American corporation takes a pragmatic stance when it comes to choosing drivers.

      “These two drivers are very important to us because, as Dan has already noted, they have experience of wins and podiums, and we value that highly,” continued Mark Reuss, president of General Motors. “I understand how important the relationship between the driver and the team of engineers is in the process of creating new cars, especially racing cars.

      “You need to have all the necessary tools, so TWG and General Motors have joined forces to make very large-scale investments. In general, we already have these tools; the process of building the staff of specialists who design these cars continues, and now we also have drivers with extensive Formula 1 experience.

      “I believe this is a very important part of the whole project, and the feedback they provide will be applied in the process of creating the car. This project will mark a new chapter in Cadillac’s history, as the company enters Formula 1 with its own factory team, something we have never done before.”

      “We spent a lot of time analyzing past experience, trying to study how Sauber fared and how Valtteri performed behind the wheel of that team’s cars,” Taurissa added. “But we were particularly interested in Red Bull, where events unfolded according to a more complicated scenario. Watching that saga was very interesting, because that team is built around one driver, even though there are two of them.

      “Clearly, none of the drivers who have piloted that team’s second car have achieved good results, and we had many conversations with people from Red Bull, receiving certain information from them. This process was lengthy and detailed; we analyzed everything carefully, and we are very positive about collaborating with Sergio.

      “He wants to compete in Formula 1, he wants to prove a lot, to demonstrate his speed and try to ensure that last season at Red Bull remains far behind in the rearview mirror.

      “As for Valtteri, he is present at the track every weekend even now, as you know, isn’t he?.. It is also important for us to create the conditions for an American driver to enter Formula 1, and we will work on that. But I think that in the debut season the team needs exactly what these two drivers can give it, and we believe we made the right choice.”