Valtteri Bottas has dropped a big hint about his Formula 1 future with an amusing social media post, which could give a clue about a potential new team for 2026.
The Finn, who was dropped by Sauber at the end of last year, has since returned to former stomping ground Mercedes as a third and test driver, and has been present at most of the races so far this year.
Bottas, 35, has been hopeful of a full-time return to the sport, and recently told the ‘Beyond the Grid’ podcast that he was “not done yet” with F1.
He also hinted interest in a drive with Red Bull, theorising that perhaps a more experienced driver like himself would be better equipped to tackle the troublesome RB21, as opposed to Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda.
There has been much speculation about the forthcoming Cadillac outfit being a suitable destination for Bottas, and his social media post has indicated this could well be true.
‘It’s a nice seat’
Clad in cowboy hat, Bottas approaches a Cadillac road car, and is enticed towards it by someone holding the camera.
Opening the door, Bottas touches the leather upholstery inside and proclaims it is “a nice seat.”
Bottas’ name is said to have been high on Cadillac’s list, along with fellow F1 outcasts Sergio Perez, Mick Schumacher and former Sauber team-mate Zhou Guanyu.
On the same edition of the podcast, Bottas said that the project was “very interesting,” but added that there may be a wait to find out if he will be on its driver roster for its debut campaign.
“I don’t think they’re in a massive rush,” he said. “They’ve been very, very busy on trying to get a car on the grid for next year.”
“For me, I actually see a very interesting project, something new to F1, an American team with maybe a different view to the sport,” he added. “If I would be there as a driver, it would be actually very interesting because you can start from scratch.
“The team starts from zero. You could actually make a big influence on certain things, which direction to go, and that would be very motivating and rewarding when the success comes.
“I think the rule change is always a good point to jump in because you just never know, if you suddenly get it right you might actually be doing really well from the get-go.”
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