Valtteri Bottas nears F1 return in 2026 with Cadillac: reports

Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas is finalising a deal to return to Formula 1 with Cadillac in 2026, multiple news outlets reported.

Bottas, currently a reserve driver at Mercedes, added fuel to the speculation with a cheeky video posted to his X feed on Sunday.

In it, he opens the door of a Cadillac SUV and has a conversation with someone off camera.

“Oh wow, that’s actually a nice seat,” Bottas says while checking out the driver’s seat. “I wouldn’t mind.”

“And there’s two seats,” the other man points out, prompting this reply from Bottas: “And they’re both free?”

Cadillac is entering the championship series next season.

Bottas, 35, has made no secret of his desire to regain a full-time F1 seat since being dropped by Sauber at the end of the 2024 season.

Bottas owns 10 career wins and 67 podium finishes in nearly 250 starts since 2013 with Sauber, Mercedes, Williams and Alfa Romeo. His last win came at the 2021 Turkish Grand Prix.