Bottas responds to Cadillac F1 seat rumours as Budkowski hints at change

Michelle Foster

25 Oct 2026 12:04 PM

Valtteri Bottas staring ahead during a press conference

Valtteri Bottas is not worried about rumours that he could be replaced in F1 2027.

Valtteri Bottas has brushed aside rumours that he could be dropped from the Cadillac line-up at the end of this season, after team boss Marcin Budkowski left the door open to a driver change.

Both Bottas and Sergio Perez joined Cadillac on long-term deals and had been expected to continue with the team into next year.

Valtteri Bottas responds to Cadillac F1 seat rumours

However, paddock whispers have suggested that Cadillac is weighing up other options, and it is Bottas’ seat that could be on the line.

The Finn has struggled to match Perez’s pace during Grands Prix, and trails his teammate by 11-4 in the head-to-head stats for Grands Prix in which both drivers reached the chequered flag.

Cadillac reserve driver Colton Herta is said to be an option, despite his disappointing season in the Formula 2 championship.

So too is Esteban Ocon. The Frenchman is without a race seat for next year’s championship after Haas signed Ferrari junior Rafael Camara.

Budkowski was asked during Friday’s FIA press conference whether Ocon was an option.

Acknowledging that one of his current drivers is “more hot, and one is probably more cold”, he confirmed that he had been approached by other drivers but would not outright put Ocon on that list.

“As a team principal, and I’m sure it’s the same with my colleagues, you’re getting calls and contacts from every driver or driver manager that is on the market,” he said.

“So there are a number of drivers and managers who have contacted me. I’m not going to say who it is or who it isn’t, but pretty much all of them that are on the market have been in touch, as you’d expect.”

He also refused to comment on either Bottas or Perez’s contracts with the team.

“This is the last place I would comment on driver contracts in general; I think it’s not something that is done in the press,” he said. “It’s something that will be done by official releases from the team when the time is right.”

As for Herta, Budkowski was asked if the American’s FP1 outing at the Circuit of the Americas was a hint of intent.

He told Sky Sports: “It’s a point away.”