Untelevised Valtteri Bottas team radio as Cadillac launches investigation over Mexican GP crash
Cadillac driver Valtteri Bottas faces the media at the 2026 Mexican Grand Prix
Untelevised team radio footage from the Mexican Grand Prix has uncovered Valtteri Bottas’s angry reaction to his Cadillac’s race-ending suspension failure.
It comes after Cadillac vowed to “fully investigate the cause of the failure”, which left Bottas facing a precautionary trip to the medical centre.
Valtteri Bottas team radio after Mexican Grand Prix crash
Bottas retired in Mexico after suffering a spectacular left-front suspension failure on the high-speed approach to Turn 1.
The Finnish driver, who was spotted waving to fans after vacating his cockpit, was taken to the medical centre for precautionary checks after crashing heavily and was subsequently released after “confirmation that he was OK.”
Bottas’s incident marked the latest suspension failure to affect Cadillac, with teammate Sergio Perez suffering a similar failure in Canada in June.
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Untelevised footage from Mexico has revealed how Bottas was unable to contain his anger in the immediate aftermath of the incident, swearing repeatedly over team radio.
The exchange between Bottas and race engineer John Howard, which cannot be reproduced here due to broadcast rights restrictions, went as follows:
Howard: “All OK?”
Bottas: “Oh, f**k! For f**k’s sake!”
Howard: “Are you OK, mate?”
Bottas: “No! F**k!”
Howard: “OK, let’s switch off.”
Bottas was excused from his post-race media duties in Mexico, with Cadillac vowing to “investigate the on-track incident fully.”
In a statement issued to PlanetF1.com by the Cadillac team, Bottas later said: “It was a big impact going into Turn 1, but thankfully I’m okay.
“Thank you to the medical team for checking me over and to everyone who helped at the scene.
“It is a testament to the hard work the FIA has put in over many years to make our sport as safe as possible.
“We need to work through everything thoroughly as a team to understand exactly what happened and make sure we learn from it.
“We had a strong opening lap and made up some places, so it’s disappointing not to finish another race.
“We’ll regroup now and focus on continuing to make progress in São Paulo next week.”
Marcin Budkowski, the Cadillac team principal, added: “A very eventful day in Mexico City. Firstly, everyone is relieved that Valtteri is OK after the incident on Lap 46.
“We will fully investigate the cause of this failure and ensure such accidents do not happen again.”
More on Valtteri Bottas and Cadillac from PlanetF1.com
Cadillac sits 11th in the constructors’ championship with a maximum of four races remaining having failed to score a point in its debut season to date.
Bottas recorded the team’s best result of the F1 2026 campaign by finishing 13th at the second race in China in March.
As reported by PlanetF1.com during the Mexican Grand Prix weekend, Bottas’s seat at Cadillac is at risk for 2027 with test driver Colton Herta and Mercedes reserve Fred Vesti in contention to replace the Finn.
Perez signed a new deal with Cadillac ahead of his home race, committing his future to the team until the end of the 2029 season.
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