Valtteri Bottas may lose his seat at Cadillac. According to reports from the European press, the American team is already considering promoting Colton Herta as the Finnish driver’s replacement if the veteran’s performance continues to fall short of expectations for the rest of the current season.
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Cadillac is competing in its first Formula 1 season and chose Bottas and Sergio Perez as its driver duo. The decision was announced in the middle of last season and generated criticism from some fans, who advocated for the presence of at least one rookie in the Silverstone-based team’s project.
Despite these criticisms, the choice of two experienced drivers was seen internally as a logical decision. Both Bottas and Perez were off the grid in 2025 and showed strong interest in returning to the category, something that weighed in the team’s decision.
Perez lost his seat at Red Bull Racing at the end of 2024, leaving him with no alternatives to continue racing in 2025. Bottas, meanwhile, was left without space at Sauber (now Audi) but managed to return to Mercedes in 2025 as a reserve driver before signing with Cadillac for this year.
Now, five races after the team’s debut in Formula 1, rumors indicate that the Finnish driver’s future may be at risk. According to information published by Sky Italia and the German newspaper BILD, Bottas’s performance compared to Perez is causing concern within the team.
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If Cadillac decides to make a change, Colton Herta appears as the main candidate for the seat. The American currently acts as the team’s test driver and also races in Formula 2 for Hitech, in a program supported by Cadillac itself focused on obtaining the super license, necessary for a possible arrival in Formula 1.
However, Herta will still need to earn the necessary points to obtain the FIA super license before he can take a cockpit in the category. Even so, reports indicate that his reputation has grown significantly within the team’s structure, increasing his chances in a potential swap.
Bottas’s signing by Cadillac had already sparked speculation earlier. In 2025, Motorsport Week reported a strong closeness between the Finnish driver and Graeme Lowdon, the team principal, during the Monaco GP weekend.
For now, Cadillac has not yet commented on the rumors of this possible driver swap.
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