Bottas told ‘on your bike’ as Schumacher puts forward Cadillac replacement

Ralf Schumacher believes Valtteri Bottas’ Formula 1 journey is over, and he has suggested the Cadillac driver heads off on his bike to “enjoy his life”.

Schumacher has urged Cadillac to instead sign Esteban Ocon as Sergio Perez’s F1 2027 teammate.

Valtteri Bottas’ F1 ‘story’ is over according to Ralf Schumacher

Bottas returned to the F1 grid this season with newcomers Cadillac, joining Perez, who also made his comeback after a season on the sidelines.

Although neither driver has scored a point in the team’s debut campaign, Perez leads Bottas in their qualifying and Grand Prix head-to-head battles.

The Finn’s record has also been affected by four retirements in the last seven races. Those brought his tally to eight for the season, as although he was classified P16 in Azerbaijan, he crashed late in the race.

Valtteri Bottas v Sergio Perez: Cadillac F1 2026 scores

F1 2026: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between teammates

F1 2026: Head-to-head race statistics between teammates

Bottas and Perez will continue with Cadillac next season in an unchanged line-up, after both drivers signed multi-year deals with the American team.

Schumacher, though, claims Cadillac should drop Bottas in favour of signing Ocon, who won’t continue with Haas next season.

“To be honest, I have to say about Valtteri Bottas, I think he should get on the bike and enjoy his life,” Schumacher told Sky Deutschland’s Backstage Boxengasse podcast. “That’s just the way it is.

“if Esteban Ocon is an option and it is possible to have him, there is no doubt about it. I would definitely take Ocon immediately.

“I think Valtteri Bottas’ story is now simply finished. But once again, Bottas is a really likeable guy…

“So this should not be taken personally, but from a purely sporting point of view and based on performance, I would definitely choose Ocon.”

His fellow pundit on the podcast, Peter Hardenacke, agrees.

Citing new Cadillac team principal Marcin Budkowski’s relationship with Ocon, with whom he worked with at Alpine, he says the Frenchman could be an option.

“Esteban Ocon might be one of Cadillac’s options,” Hardenacke said. “Marcin Budkowski knows him well from their years together at Alpine.

“When you consider everything that’s going on inside the team at the moment, like the fact that Valtteri Bottas is jumping on his bike and cycling from Malaysia to Singapore and the team boss doesn’t know anything about it, it’s an interesting situation.”

Bottas completed a roughly 420km bicycle ride from Malaysia to Singapore ahead of the Grand Prix.

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