Graeme Lowdon, team principal of Cadillac's incoming Formula 1 team, has publicly thanked Mercedes boss Toto Wolff for facilitating Valtteri Bottas's return to the grid. Bottas, 35, will race for Cadillac alongside Sergio Perez in the team's debut 2026 season.
Bottas lost his Sauber seat at the end of last year when Audi took over, but was quickly hired by Mercedes as a reserve driver. However, he made clear his ambition to return to a race seat, and Wolff personally assisted in negotiations with Cadillac.
Lowdon told media, including Mirror Sport: 'I'd like to add on record our thanks to everybody at Mercedes, in particular Toto, for being very helpful in our discussions with Valtteri and organising a good handover at the right time. I have a lot of respect for Mercedes, and it's good to see that respect from them as well for Valtteri.'
Bottas will fulfill his Mercedes duties for the remainder of the year, limiting his early involvement with Cadillac. In contrast, Perez, also 35, is free to start immediately after taking time away following his Red Bull exit. Perez said: 'Instead of jumping into something just to stay on the grid, I needed that time back to disconnect... It was very clear for me what I wanted to do next.'
