Bottas believes ‘the sky's the limit’ for Cadillac as he reflects on expectations for 2026

Valtteri Bottas is confident that “the sky's the limit” for Cadillac as the team prepare for their debut in 2026, though the Finn has also acknowledged that he and the squad need to be “realistic on the targets” for the start of their maiden campaign.

It was confirmed this week that Bottas and Sergio Perez will both return to the grid to form the American outfit’s line-up next season and, in a bonus episode of the F1 Nation podcast, Bottas spoke of his excitement at joining the new project.

“I signed a while ago but for me, once we had the announcement in New York, that's really when it hit me,” he explained. “It's almost the same feeling as when I started, like I'm an F1 driver again, so it feels great. I feel like a kid.

“It's a really exciting, interesting project for me. Obviously, they've got a great structure already. They have big plans for the future and, for me, being part of something that you can really start from a blank page, a new Formula 1 team, there's so much input that I can put into it.

“I know there's a lot of work to do, but I think it's really exciting starting something new and being part of it.”

Bottas believes that his extensive experience in the sport – having raced for Williams, Mercedes and Kick Sauber across 12 seasons, during which time he collected 10 victories with the Silver Arrows – will be beneficial to Cadillac as they find their feet.

However, the 36-year-old says that he is also being pragmatic about the possibility of the new team facing some challenges when they first hit the grid in 2026.

“We need to be realistic,” Bottas conceded. “I need to be realistic on the targets. The main thing is, first of all, to be there at the first test in January, to finish the first race, and then we kind of go from there so, mentally almost kind of preparing for the worst, that it's going to be a difficult start, but you never know.

“It is a new regulation change again in Formula 1 with the power units and with the cars, so there can be opportunities, but we will take it step by step. By working hard and then eventually seeing the fruit, that's going to be the thing that keeps me going.

“The sky's the limit for the team. There's obviously a target to make progress as quickly as possible. The team is going to be here to stay for a long time in F1, so I'm not going to set a result target or anything, but we want to see progress and we want to be successful.

“As I said, the starting point could be tricky, but there's only a way up from there and that’s exciting. They're serious. They're not here to finish last. And that is really encouraging and good to see.”

To hear more from Bottas about his Cadillac move, hit go on the audio player above or click here to listen to the latest episode of F1 Nation on your preferred podcasting platform.