Toto Wolff reacts to Valtteri Bottas’ Cadillac announcement amid F1 comeback

Cadillac has announced that it has signed Mercedes' reserve driver Valtteri Bottas, alongside Sergio Perez, for its 2026 driver lineup. Subsequently, the Finn's now-former boss, Toto Wolff, has shared his approval of his reserve driver's move to the newly joining F1 team in a message released by the team.

Bottas had been a Mercedes driver since 2017-21, during which he won 10 races and helped the German constructor claim five constructors' world championships. He then moved over to Sauber on a multi-year contract and intended to stay with the team through its Audi transformation.

However, the Hinwil-based squad decided to part ways with the 35-year-old at the end of the 2024 season, despite Bottas scoring the majority of the team's points between 2022 and 2024. Not ready to give up his F1 venture, the 10-time race winner joined Mercedes in a reserve driver capacity and intended for his exile from full-time racing to soon end.

With Cadillac knocking on his door, the 35-year-old put the pen to the paper and decided to jump ship to the American squad for the 2026 season. Meanwhile, happy for his reserve driver to land a full-time role on the grid, Toto Wolff shared his thoughts in a message released by Mercedes over his satisfaction with the Finn's move to Cadillac:

'It is great to see Valtteri regain his place on the F1 grid for next year. He still has so much to offer as a racing driver and deserves to be lining up in Melbourne for the 2026 season. We will of course be sad to see him go.

"He has played an important role in our team and his contribution as our third driver this year has been exemplary. For now, we will continue that work until the end of the year before wishing him well for next year and beyond."

Valtteri Bottas began his career at Williams and ventured over to Mercedes, where he saw the highs of his F1 career.

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Valtteri Bottas opens up on how changing teams also includes resetting goals in F1

Valtteri Bottas at the 2025 Hungarian GP weekend - Source: Getty

Cadillac will be Valtteri Bottas' fourth different F1 team in his career. Before the American outfit, he had raced for all types of teams on the F1 grid, as he was with a midfield team with Williams, a world champion outfit with Mercedes, and a backmarker with Sauber in his final stint with the team.

With him having such expertise, Bottas already knows how to set goals at different types of squads, as he said, via F1's official website:

"It's a bit like when I moved from Mercedes to Alfa [Sauber] – I kind of had to reset goals... So for me, just being involved, getting my hands dirty with the team. Once that progress and success will come, that's the trigger for me. That's going to do the thing for me and give me that reward."

Valtteri Bottas has made 246 race starts in his 12 years of racing on the grid, while claiming 10 race wins, 20 pole positions, and 67 podiums.