Cadillac F1 boss refuses to confirm Bottas and Perez 2027 contracts as rival drivers make contact

Cadillac have hinted that their drivers for the 2027 season are not quite decided yet as rivals seek to grab an F1 seat.

For the brand new American team’s first season in the sport, the experienced duo of Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas were chosen as the driver pairing to take them into the campaign.

It was thought that both drivers signed multi-deals, meaning they would at least race for Cadillac in the 2027 season too.

The 2026 season has been a tough one though for Cadillac, who brutally axed team boss Graeme Lowdon in August, replacing him with Marcin Budkowski as they still aim to score their first point.

F1 HEADLINES: US Grand Prix disaster for Ferrari as FIA confirm 80-place grid penalty

Esteban Ocon looking for F1 drive

Curiously, this has thrown Cadillac’s 2027 lineup into doubt, especially with Esteban Ocon on his way out of the Haas team at the end of the season.

This has linked the Frenchman to a Cadillac drive given he worked with Budkowski for a year at Renault (now Alpine) in 2020.

Ocon only has one other route back into F1 aside from Cadillac and that is at Racing Bulls where he is not under consideration.

Commenting on the Ocon speculation, Budkowski told a press conference on Friday: “Esteban Ocon? 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.

“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.

Cadillac not certain on 2027 F1 drivers

Asked to clarify Perez and Bottas’s contracts for 2027, he 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.”

Although Bottas has achieved Cadillac’s best result with a 13th place finish at the second race of the season in China, Perez has finished above the Finn at every other race this season where they have both finished.

By this metric, Perez has impressed and Budkowski admits he has been a crucial to the team, saying: For a driver like Checo who has a huge amount of experience and a number of races, I can tell you he doesn’t behave or drive like a driver who is anywhere close to retirement.

Perez pushing Cadillac hard

“He’s pushing very hard behind the wheel. He’s pushing us very hard also behind the scenes, in the debrief rooms and outside, and regularly texting me and other members of the team to push us to improve.

“He’s hungry, he’s motivated, and that’s actually really good to see. He does it in his own style. We have two drivers: one is more hot and one is probably more cold, if we could say, from there.

“And they both push the team in their own particular ways, but Checo is, yes, pushing us very hard.

“And just looking at the way his body language on the grid, when he gets his helmet on and he gets in the car, he’s getting ready for a fight. There’s a lot of fire, there’s a lot of motivation there, so it’s really impressive for a driver of this experience.

“And at the same time, we’re getting his feedback and his input in terms of, as an experienced driver. So yes, he’s a very good combination.”

READ MORE: Jeremy Clarkson slams F1 celebrity culture with blunt Kim Kardashian verdict