Valtteri Bottas remains convinced he will drive for Cadillac next season despite the team’s ongoing efforts to ensure their test driver Colton Herta gains a Formula 1 superlicence.
Herta will drive Sergio Perez’s car in today’s first practice session. His latest appearance will ensure the Formula 2 driver and IndyCar race-winner reaches the 40 point threshold required for him to gain a superlicence.However Bottas told the official F1 channel he expects to continue racing for the team next year. “That’s what I think, yes,” he said. “If I would do betting – I’m not allowed to do betting by the way – but if I [did], I would bet for that.”
Cadillac has already confirmed Perez will return to drive for them again next year. Perez said the team faces a “difficult choice” between Bottas and Herta for a 2027 seat.
But Bottas expects to return for another season. “In my head, it should be okay,” he said. “That’s what I signed up for, long-term. I haven’t heard anything else than that. So in my head it should be all good.”
While all teams must run inexperienced drivers in practice sessions on at least four occasions during the year, this will be Herta’s fifth such appearance for Cadillac. Bottas believes this is because he will be unlikely to qualify for a superlicence if he fails to this year, as the points he scored for his second-place finish in the 2024 IndyCar season will expire.
“It kind of makes sense for him because I understood that if he misses the superlicence this year, then it’s going to be almost impossible to get it,” said Bottas. “And as long as he gets it now, it’s going to be valid for a few years.
“So I’m pretty sure the team wants to have that just in case, not necessarily for next year. So that’s at least what I hope.
“But from my side, nothing has changed. The team has told me they don’t want to change anything. So that is where we are.”
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