Cadillac shuts down Horner chatter, locks in Bottas and Perez for 2026
Cadillac F1 didn’t just nudge the rumor mill on Tuesday — it kicked the door shut. New team boss Dan Towriss moved to cool any talk of a move for Christian Horner, saying the outfit has no plans to open discussions with the former Red Bull team principal. Horner, dismissed by Red Bull after last month’s British Grand Prix, is still widely expected to resurface in the paddock at some point, but it won’t be in Cadillac colors.
Instead, the American entrant made noise where it matters: the driver lineup. Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas will spearhead Cadillac’s debut in 2026, a pairing heavy on mileage and light on unknowns. Between them, they bring more than 500 grands prix of experience — the kind of steady hands a startup program usually craves.
Bottas, a 10-time race winner from his Mercedes years, framed the project as serious from day one, talking up the “hunger and professionalism” he’s seen inside the walls. For the Finn, it’s a swift return to the grid after his Sauber stint ended; for Cadillac, it’s a statement that it plans to hit the ground running rather than learning on the job.
Perez, who left Red Bull at the end of last season, called Cadillac “the team of the Americas” and set the tone for what’s to come: build the group into a “real contender,” not simply make up the numbers. The Mexican’s race-craft and development chops should dovetail nicely with Bottas’s technical feel, giving Cadillac a clear baseline as it preps for its first campaign.
There’s already debate about what the team should look like beyond the cockpit. Alex Brundle floated the idea many fans have whispered — a young American in the car would be a headline-maker — but ultimately backed the call for veterans, arguing that familiar quantities will serve Cadillac better at the start.
So, file this under Intent. Cadillac isn’t shopping for a marquee boss and it isn’t gambling on raw rookie flair. It’s chosen stability: two proven operators to shape a first car and a first season. The shimmering promises can wait. The real work, the hard yards of building a team that functions from lights out, has clearly begun.
