Cadillac has made its first driver signing for the team’s debut Formula 1 season next year in the shape of Finnish veteran Valtteri Bottas, according to reports.
Motorsport Week has previously reported that Bottas was appearing to be firmly placed with the rookie team, amid sightings of the Finn and Team Principal Graeme Lowdon together in close conversation at May’s Monaco Grand Prix.
The signing would put to bed recurring speculation about a potential union between both parties, which culminated in a comical social media post from Bottas.
Filmed walking a public street, Bottas stumbled upon a Cadillac SUV, and upon opening the door, proclaimed it to be “a nice seat”.
Further rumours recently have pointed the 35-year-old towards a possible switch to Alpine, which next year becomes a power unit customer of Mercedes, for which Bottas is currently a reserve driver.
But the reports indicate that Bottas could be unveiled as a Cadillac driver as early as next week, when F1 returns from its summer break at the Dutch Grand Prix.
Bottas, who lost his drive at Sauber last year, has made no secret of the fact that he is keen to return to full-time racing.
His previous and current Team Principal, Toto Wolff, has also vocalised his desire to see Bottas racing again, recently telling a Mercedes-produced video to “watch this space”.
It is worth noting that if Bottas will indeed take to the grid aboard a Cadillac at the Australian Grand Prix on March 8, he will need to serve a five-place grid penalty, carried over from an incident with Kevin Magnussen at last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Who will fill seat number two at Cadillac?
If Bottas’ signature is now drying on a Cadillac contract, then the focus shifts onto who will fill the second seat alongside him.
Prior media reports have stated that another veteran – Sergio Perez – is also poised to be signing for the team.
However, previous speculation has discussed whether Cadillac will opt for a line-up of one experienced driver with a rookie, which would leave Perez out.
Bottas’ last team-mate, Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu, is thought to be on the shortlist, and brings two particular plus points.
Guanyu is already au fait with Lowdon, having been managed by the Brit’s Equals Management company.
He is also currently contracted to Ferrari as reserve driver, and the Italian marque will be providing the team with engines until it is able to build its own in-house.
Mick Schumacher is also under consideration, with the former Haas driver having been seen in discussion with Cadillac representatives at several Grands Prix this year.
Felipe Drugovich might also be a prospect, the Brazilian having played a dutiful role at Aston Martin for the last three years.
Fernando Alonso recently backed him for a race seat, and has recently seen his stock rise after an impressive points-scoring finish in a Formula E one-off for Mahindra Racing.
There is little doubt, however, that the team would ideally like to field an American driver, and the most logical is currently Formula 2 star Jak Crawford.
Another Aston protege, Crawford has also got indirect ties to the team via Formula E, having been a reserve driver for Andretti, which is, like Cadillac, owned by the TWG organisation.
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