Valtteri Bottas speaks out clearly against the ‘nonsense’ rumors before the Monaco GP
Valtteri Bottas has fired back at rumors saying he might be dropped by Cadillac during his first season with the team. Cadillac joined Formula 1 as the 11th team for the 2026 season and chose experienced drivers, signing Bottas and Sergio Perez.
Many expected it would take time for Cadillac to go from the back of the pack to the midfield, but their early improvements are giving fans some hope. Perez finished 11th in the Canadian Grand Prix sprint, ahead of some bigger teams, though a 10-second penalty moved him down to 15th. In Miami, he barely missed getting out of Q1 by just over two tenths of a second.
Perez and Bottas have shown some differences in performance, but Bottas still had Cadillac’s best finish of the season so far, placing 13th in China. After the Canadian race, team boss Graeme Lowdon said it’s too early to judge the drivers’ performance because there haven’t been many races, and they’re still working hard to improve the cars and setups.
After the last Grand Prix, rumors popped up that Cadillac might replace Bottas just five races in. Sky Sports Italia reported that his spot was in doubt and that F2 driver Colton Herta—the team’s reserve driver—could take over. But Herta doesn’t yet have enough points for the FIA Super Licence needed to race in F1.
Cadillac has denied these rumors, and Bottas himself responded sharply. At a press conference before the Monaco Grand Prix, he told the official Formula 1 site, “This isn’t the first time I’ve dealt with rumors like this. It’s a bit sad that people just make up stuff, but that’s normal in this sport.”
He added, “I know my place, the team knows my place, and they support me 100%. So for me, it’s all good.” When asked why he thinks these stories come out, Bottas said, “Headlines. Clicks. That’s my guess.” He laughed, “I was just drinking my morning coffee when I saw the first rumor. It’s one of the negative sides of this sport sometimes. People want to create rumors to write stories. I’ve learned it’s part of the game, and it doesn’t bother me anymore.”