Valtteri Bottas: I'm confident the car will be ready in January.

      Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez will be the first to bring Cadillac F1’s cars to the grid at the team’s debut race in March next year. Between them they have 527 Grands Prix, both have finished as runners-up in the world championship in different years, and on Sky Sport Valtteri spoke about his mindset at this, the very early stage of getting to know the team.

      Valtteri Bottas: “This is a very serious challenge, and I’m ready to take it on. Sergio Perez and I need to remain realistic and work hard, trying to give the team direction. The race in Melbourne in 2026 will be a kind of starting point, and for now nobody knows how things will turn out, but the only way from there is up.

      So far, everything is going according to plan, as far as I understand. Of course, Cadillac has long since begun work – long before the team’s entry application was officially approved. I’m confident the car will be ready in January; a day for the initial shakedown has already been set, and a number of crash tests have been carried out, although it’s clear that nothing is simple. You can imagine how complex this project is – creating a brand-new Formula 1 team from scratch while simultaneously building a car. There will be a lot of hustle and bustle in the team over the next few months.

      I’ve always had a good relationship with Sergio; we have mutual respect. We spent the whole day together when the Cadillac F1 line-up was officially announced, he’s very easy to get along with, a calm and relaxed person, and I foresee that we will make good teammates.

      Everything I’ve already seen within the team, everything connected to the Cadillac brand, the culture of this company – it all makes a great impression, and I’m very happy to be part of this project. In short, I’ll become an Australian-American Finn!

      But first the car needs to be ready for the initial tests, then we must take the start in Melbourne and make it to the finish of the first race. Those are the primary tasks, and it’s too early to talk about specific results. It’s important to progress gradually and try to perform better and better, because this team is coming to Formula 1 not to finish last.”