Valtteri Bottas is on the verge of finalizing a deal with Cadillac to secure his return to a Formula 1 race seat, according to Autosport‘s June reports. This development leaves one coveted seat open as the grid expands to 22 cars for the upcoming season, attracting attention from multiple drivers without confirmed contracts.
Sergio Perez stands out as the most probable and appealing candidate for Cadillac’s second seat, thanks to his extensive experience and strong backing from Mexico. While an American team partnering with a Mexican driver seems geopolitically unexpected, Formula 1’s insulated environment suggests such factors may not influence the decision significantly.
Other drivers linked to this available position include Zhou Guanyu, Mick Schumacher, Felipe Drugovich, Jack Doohan, Jak Crawford, and Paul Aron, among others, all of whom have been considered contenders for the role at Cadillac.
The Advantages of a Bottas and Perez Pairing
If Cadillac secures both Bottas and Perez, the team will benefit from a combined experience of 532 starts, 16 race wins, and 3,435 career points. Both drivers being 35 years old indicates this arrangement is not aimed at long-term driver development but rather offers immense speed and extensive technical knowledge. For Cadillac’s engineering team, their combined years providing a clear baseline will be critical in building from scratch, given a new team’s lack of prior season data, setup references, and practical racing insights.
While fans eager to see fresh talent might find this return of established drivers disappointing, experienced drivers present a pragmatic choice. Should Perez’s negotiations break down and lead him to Alpine, where he is reportedly in talks, Cadillac retains options with drivers familiar with the F1 landscape.
Certainly, Cadillac can take lessons from past all-new teams that debated whether to rely on veteran drivers or to develop rookies in a less pressured environment, weighing long-term growth against immediate competitiveness.
How Haas Launched With Stability and Experience in 2016
Haas entered Formula 1 in 2016 with a pragmatic approach that yielded notable success over its first three seasons. The team’s close ties to Ferrari sparked debate regarding the use of non-listed parts beyond those permitted by regulations. On the driving side, Haas combined experience with potential by appointing Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutierrez. Grosjean had developed a solid reputation as a racer despite early struggles in F1, while Gutierrez brought two seasons of F1 experience and vital simulator knowledge from his time with Ferrari.
In Haas’ debut race, both drivers were eliminated early in qualifying due to the unpopular elimination format, yet Grosjean’s bold one-stop strategy during a safety car period allowed him to finish sixth. The team continued to perform strongly with Grosjean taking fifth in Bahrain, though Gutierrez failed to score points and was soon replaced by Kevin Magnussen.
For four years, Grosjean and Magnussen formed a rookie-averse lineup that emphasized consistency and experience. After experimenting with younger drivers Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin in 2021, the team likely felt bolstered in its initial veteran-focused philosophy.
The 2010 Lotus Approach: Experience Over Youth
Lotus’ 2010 entry into Formula 1 included former race winners Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli, combining financial backing from AirAsia chairman Tony Fernandes and technical leadership from Mike Gascoyne. Kovalainen was available after losing his seat to Jenson Button at McLaren, having won the 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix but generally racing as a second driver to Lewis Hamilton. Trulli’s 13 seasons of seasoned experience and his 2004 race victory with Renault made the duo a sensible, reliable choice.
The Lotus T127 was conservative in design and did not challenge the top teams regularly, but the drivers consistently outran other new teams such as Virgin Racing and Hispania. Kovalainen’s highlight was qualifying into Q2 in a wet Malaysian race, and the team finished tenth in the constructors’ championship, a respectable result among debutants.
Lotus kept the same driver lineup for 2011 but replaced Trulli in 2012 with Vitaly Petrov, later bringing in Charles Pic and Giedo van der Garde as the team transitioned to Caterham. This strategic prioritization of experience helped establish the team’s presence during its initial seasons.
Virgin Racing’s 2010 Debut: Combining Experience and Promising Talent
Virgin Racing joined F1 in 2010 with ambitions tied to a planned cost cap, which was later removed, hampering their financial capabilities. Despite Richard Branson’s Virgin Group providing title sponsorship, the team operated on a tight budget, often selling livery space to secure funding.
The team innovated by adopting an all-CFD chassis design, a move doubling as a cost-saving measure due to avoided wind tunnel testing. Technical chief Nick Wirth secured Timo Glock, an experienced driver returning from injury, to maintain competitiveness. Glock had shown strong performance with Toyota before a serious crash in 2009 sidelined him.
Lucas di Grassi, a driver with solid GP2 credentials and Renault driver development experience, partnered Glock as the team’s rookie. While the car struggled with aerodynamics and fuel capacity, Glock frequently outperformed rival new team Lotus drivers, though di Grassi was unable to match his teammate consistently. Virgin replaced di Grassi with Jerome d’Ambrosio for 2011, while Glock extended his tenure as the team evolved into Marussia.
HRT’s Rookie-Heavy Lineup in 2010 and Its Challenges
Hispania Racing Team (HRT), formerly Campos, faced financial constraints that stifled their development for their debut F1 season. Operating with a largely unchanged launch-spec chassis from Dallara and limited updates, the team fielded two rookie drivers backed by their funding: Bruno Senna and Karun Chandhok, both with ties to GP2.
The cars were uncompetitive, and pre-race preparations were troubled, with Chandhok not even setting a time until qualifying in Bahrain. Though their laps were significantly slower than the front runners, HRT occasionally outperformed Virgin Racing on raw pace. Financial difficulties forced the team to rotate drivers to secure budget, bringing in Sakon Yamamoto and later Christian Klien, an ex-Red Bull driver, during the season.
HRT refreshed its lineup in 2011 with experienced but less recent Formula 1 drivers Vitantonio Liuzzi and Narain Karthikeyan, demonstrating the difficulties faced by new teams in balancing budget, experience, and driver talent.
Super Aguri’s 2006 Campaign Focused on Japanese Talent and Struggles
Super Aguri’s late entry into the 2006 championship was orchestrated to retain Japanese driver Takuma Sato within the Honda racing family. The team utilized an updated 2002 Arrows chassis and paired Sato with Yuji Ide, the Formula Nippon runner-up with limited F1 experience and language challenges.
Ide struggled dramatically, culminating in his superlicence being revoked after a dangerous accident in San Marino. Following this, experienced Renault reserve Franck Montagny took over for several races, notably performing better than Sato in France, before the team reinstated Japanese drivers Sakon Yamamoto and Anthony Davidson for 2007 to stabilize their lineup.
Toyota’s 2002 Debut Featuring Endurance and Formula 1 Veterans
Toyota’s initial F1 effort began later than planned due to engine regulation changes, resulting in a 2001 testing year with their TF101 car. The team recruited Mika Salo, a near-race winner at Ferrari, and former Le Mans champion Allan McNish, who had prior Toyota sportscar experience.
The 2002 season had promising moments, such as Salo’s sixth-place finish in Australia, earning Toyota its first point. McNish was frequently caught up in incidents and ultimately sidelined by a heavy crash, leading to both drivers being replaced after one season by Olivier Panis and Cristiano da Matta. Toyota’s F1 history was marked by sporadic success in qualifying and occasional points-scoring amid fierce midfield competition.
Stewart Grand Prix’s 1997 Blend of Youth and Experience
Rubens Barrichello and Jan Magnussen comprised Stewart Grand Prix’s driver lineup during their 1997 campaign. Barrichello brought four seasons of experience and solid performances with Jordan, while Magnussen entered F1 with strong junior credentials and some prior race exposure.
Barrichello delivered the team’s standout result with a second-place finish at Monaco despite persistent reliability issues from the Ford V10 engine. Magnussen struggled to match Barrichello’s pace and reportedly resisted driving instruction from the team. The following year, Magnussen was replaced after earning his first career point, signaling Stewart’s continual search for competitive driver combinations.
Lola’s 1997 Debut Marred by Performance and Financial Woes
Lola’s F1 entry in 1997 was marked by ambitious but ill-fated plans. The team’s T97/30 chassis was uncompetitive, poorly engineered by founder Eric Broadley’s standards, and hampered by a severe lack of funding. Ricardo Rosset, who contributed financially, and Vincenzo Sospiri, a hopeful debutant with prior F3000 success, formed the driver pairing.
In Melbourne, neither driver was close to the pace, with qualifying times well outside the 107% cutoff set by regulations. The team failed to participate in the Brazilian round and quickly shut down due to overwhelming debts, exemplifying the challenges of unsustainable F1 entries.