Valtteri Bottas denies he might lose his Cadillac seat for F1 2027

Valtteri Bottas insists Cadillac is happy with him and his contract is “all OK” for 2027, amid recent rumours about his Formula 1 future.

Bottas’ recent lack of both qualifying and race pace has led to speculation on the driver market. Esteban Ocon, who lost his seat to Formula 2 championship leader Rafael Camara at Haas, was brought up in the media as a potential contender for the Finn’s seat; so were Cadillac test driver Colton Herta, despite his tough F2 season, and Red Bull reserve driver Yuki Tsunoda.

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In that context, Cadillac team principal Marcin Budkoswki – who has been in office for two-and-a-half months – was asked, in Friday’s press conference at the United States Grand Prix, if Ocon might be a candidate for a reserve role – and his answer was elusive.

“Well, look, 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,” Budkowski 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.

“But yes, I think it’s the last place here, as you can imagine, where I would communicate anything on driver line-up. My marketing and communications department would kill me if I did that.”

Pressed on whether Bottas and Sergio Perez did have valid contracts for 2027, the Pole intriguingly added: “Again, this is the last place I would comment on driver contracts, and in general, I think it’s not something that is done in the press. It’s something which will be done by official releases from the team when the time is right.”

Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac Racing, speaks to team principal Marcin Budkowski

Photo by: Michael Potts / LAT images via Getty Images

Given both drivers signed ‘multi-year’ contracts when they joined Cadillac for 2026, it’s unclear what conditions – if any – must be met to trigger their 2027 extensions.

Ocon is believed to be heading towards an Aston Martin reserve deal rather than the Cadillac gig anyway, but is Bottas’ seat necessarily secure?

Asked if the team had given him reassurance for 2027, the 264-race veteran said: “Yes – I mean, last year when I signed, I know the terms, so that's all OK.”

Pressed by Motorsport.com on Budkowski’s Friday comments and whether he was surprised by those equivocal answers, Bottas said he was both unaware of those remarks and unbothered.

As to whether there was any scenario where he wouldn’t be racing for Cadillac despite theoretically having a contract for 2027 season, Bottas pondered: “I mean, it is Formula 1. If cows could fly, you know… anything can always happen in this sport. But for now, they seem happy with what they're getting out of me. I think that's all that matters.”

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- The Motorsport.com Team