Cadillac has officially announced that veteran Formula 1 drivers Sergio "Checo" Perez and Valtteri Bottas will join its team for the 2026 season. The announcement was made on Tuesday morning by Dan Towriss, CEO of the Cadillac Formula 1 team and TWG Motorsports, alongside Mark Reuss, president of General Motors.

"[Bottas' and Perez's] experience and leadership are what we needed," Towriss said. "We couldn't be more excited to take the next step with them."

Perez, who previously raced for Red Bull, has been absent from the grid since the team terminated his contract at the end of the 2024 season. The 35-year-old driver made his Formula 1 debut in 2011. Bottas, also 35, was named reserve driver for Mercedes after losing his seat at Alfa Romeo for the 2025 season. He raced alongside Lewis Hamilton for five seasons at Mercedes, contributing to five constructors' championships. Bottas began his F1 career in 2013. Together, the two drivers have achieved a total of 106 podium finishes throughout their careers.

Reuss emphasized the significance of the two drivers for Cadillac, stating, "We've never done F1 before. These two drivers are very important to us." Towriss added, "We talked to a lot of drivers. We had assembled a dossier on drivers, looking at different combinations. [Bottas and Perez] were our first choice ... we're humbled by their belief in our program."

Despite a challenging season last year, where Perez scored 285 fewer points than his teammate Max Verstappen, Towriss expressed confidence in Perez's abilities. "In our meetings with him, he outperformed. We had questions and skepticism, [but] Perez answered all of our questions, passing our tests with flying colors," he said.

Towriss also addressed rumors regarding former Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner potentially joining Cadillac, stating, "There have been no talks with Christian Horner. I would like to officially shut down the rumors."

The 2026 season will kick off with the Australian Grand Prix in March. Bottas and Perez are set to begin testing the new Cadillac car in January, ahead of its official debut in early February. Both drivers have signed multi-year contracts with the team.

Graeme Lowden was appointed as team principal last December. Cadillac is the first new team to enter Formula 1 since 2016. The American automaker has a strong presence in motorsports, competing in IMSA and WEC Racing. Recently, the Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA secured pole position at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and Cadillac achieved a 1-2 finish in the Hypercar class at the Rolex 6 Hours of São Paulo, currently ranking second in the FIA World Endurance Championship standings.