Bottas cites contract amid uncertainty over Cadillac’s 2027 line-up

Valtteri Bottas says he knows the terms of his Cadillac deal for 2027 and believes the team is happy with his work, pushing back against speculation over his seat. Team principal Marcin Budkowski has declined to confirm the team’s driver line-up.

At Friday’s United States Grand Prix press conference, Budkowski was asked whether Bottas and Sergio Perez had valid contracts for 2027. He declined to discuss the agreements, saying Cadillac would address driver contracts through official releases when the time was right.

Bottas said he was unaware of Budkowski’s Friday remarks and unbothered by them. Asked whether he could still miss out despite a contract, he acknowledged that anything can happen in Formula 1.

Speculation was fuelled by Bottas’s recent lack of both qualifying and race pace. Esteban Ocon was raised as a possible contender, though he was believed to be heading for an Aston Martin reserve role; Cadillac test driver Colton Herta was also mentioned despite a difficult F2 season, alongside Red Bull reserve Yuki Tsunoda.

Both Bottas and Perez signed multi-year contracts when they joined Cadillac for 2026, but it remains unclear what conditions, if any, would trigger their 2027 extensions.