Valtteri Bottas Begins Work With Cadillac Formula 1 Team As 2026 Build Accelerates

Valtteri Bottas has completed his first official days as a Cadillac Formula 1 Team driver after receiving early release from Mercedes, with a seat fit at Silverstone marking the first real step in the 2026 build. The week also arrives as Cadillac confirms a bold plan to unveil its 2026 livery during a Super Bowl advertising slot on Sunday 8 February, signalling its intent to plant the new team firmly inside American culture as well as the Formula 1 paddock.

Key Points – Valtteri Bottas Cadillac F1 2026 Build

• Bottas begins work following early release from Mercedes
• First week includes a full seat fit and integration at Silverstone
• Cadillac to reveal its 2026 livery during the Super Bowl on 8 February
• Operations span Fishers, Charlotte and Silverstone
• Simulator roster includes Pagenaud, Fittipaldi and Eastwood
• Legacy testing with Sergio Pérez supports early operational rehearsal
• Cadillac aims to position its F1 entry at the intersection of sport, culture and entertainment

The Announcement

Bottas’ transition into Cadillac arrives earlier than expected. Mercedes cleared the move before the standard 1 January date, giving the new team valuable time with its lead driver. The first sessions at Silverstone focused on fundamentals. A full seat fit. Ergonomics. Pedal and wheel positioning. Long conversations with engineers across both continents. It was quiet work but important work. The kind that sets the foundation before a new car takes shape.

For Cadillac, this week marks another shift in momentum. Planning is now becoming reality. People are in place. Systems are starting to breathe. And the team has chosen its moment to go public. Confirming a 2026 livery reveal during the Super Bowl sends a clear message about how Cadillac wants to introduce itself to the world.

Official Comments

Bottas framed the moment with calm focus.

“I’m excited to be starting as a Cadillac Formula 1 Team driver, finally. This is a proud moment in my career as it marks the beginning of a new chapter back on the grid with a team that is starting its journey in the sport. There is a lot of hard work ahead, so I am keen to use my experience to help the team now that I am fully on board.”

He said seeing the project up close changed the picture.

“Seeing everything coming together for the first time as a brand new team is special and makes you realise the momentum of the project. It is important to get the preparation right as these moments really are the first steps to getting us ready for the first test. I cannot wait to get the season started and go racing once again.”

Team Principal Graeme Lowdon said the build is entering a new phase.

“It is great to finally have Valtteri on board and integrated with the team. We have been planning for quite some time now, so it is fantastic to see these moments happening ahead of our first season on track. I am proud of all the work everybody is doing in the team. Formula 1 is the greatest team game in the world and it is times like this where you see the skills, talent and expertise we have, and how well such a talent like Valtteri will be at home.”

A Super Bowl Stage for the 2026 Car

Cadillac will unveil the livery of its 2026 challenger during a Super Bowl advertising slot on Sunday 8 February. It is an announcement that goes far beyond a paint scheme. The Super Bowl is the biggest single television moment in the United States. Last season’s broadcast drew 127.7 million viewers. The halftime show went even higher, topping 133 million. No Formula 1 launch has ever attempted to step onto a stage of that scale.

That reach is the point. The Super Bowl is one of the few events that sits at the intersection of sport, culture and entertainment. It drives national conversation. It dominates social timelines. It brings in viewers who may not even follow motorsport. Cadillac wants its Formula 1 team to emerge in that environment rather than through a traditional online reveal.

Dan Towriss, CEO of Cadillac Formula 1 Team Holdings, said the decision reflects exactly who they are trying to be. A team with American heritage. A team that is comfortable blending storytelling with sporting ambition. A team that wants to introduce itself in a way that matches the scale of its home market. Towriss described the Super Bowl as one of the rare moments where spectacle and sport align. It gives Cadillac a chance to show its identity not just to Formula 1 fans but to the wider culture it wants to be part of.

For a new entry, it is a bold opening move. It sets the tone for how Cadillac intends to compete off the track while the on-track build continues.

Building the Team From the Ground Up

Cadillac’s Formula 1 project began by building its operational spine. Communication systems linking Fishers, Charlotte and Silverstone were established first. Mission Control structures, decision chains and engineering workflows were mapped out long before a driver touched a car. It meant the organisation could operate as one connected team, not three isolated sites.

Once those systems were in place, the simulator programme became the next pillar. Simon Pagenaud, Pietro Fittipaldi and Charlie Eastwood formed Cadillac’s first core roster. Pagenaud brought two decades of experience and helped turn GM’s Charlotte facility into a realistic DIL environment. Fittipaldi offered recent F1 race mileage, running full grand prix simulations as the model evolved. Eastwood added factory-level GT expertise and calibration support.

Pagenaud said his goal is to make the simulator “as close to reality as possible” and to help “lay the foundations of the car”. Fittipaldi said running 2026 simulations has already been a privilege and a window into how the car will behave.

The next step shifted the team into live operational rehearsal. Sergio Pérez completed early mileage in a legacy Ferrari chassis. The sessions were about systems rather than speed. Radio flow. Decision making. Mission Control behaviour under pressure. Real laps that force engineers to react instantly. It sharpened the communication channels between the US and UK bases.

Graeme Lowdon said this phase has been essential. He called the simulator and live-ops work “crucial for consolidating baseline performance and validating systems and protocols” as the team builds toward its debut.

Into this structure steps Valtteri Bottas. His arrival is the latest and most advanced step so far. The early release from Mercedes brought him in weeks ahead of schedule. Integration work at Silverstone gives Cadillac its first direct reference point with the driver who will lead the debut campaign. Bottas joins a project that already has systems, simulation and operational rehearsal behind it. The groundwork is laid. Now it has a lead driver to anchor around.

Operational backbone. Simulator foundations. Live-ops work with Pérez.
Bottas is the step that binds it all together.

For Cadillac, the build is no longer theoretical.
For Bottas, it is a team already forming around him.