By Lani Price
After departing Formula One at the end of the 2024 season, both Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas have found themselves as the newest driver pairing on the grid, racing for Cadillac in the teams inaugural F1 season – so, do they have a point to prove?
Perez and Bottas return to the grid boasting a wealth of experience, with 16 race wins, 500 Grand Prix starts, and over 100 podiums between them. Cadillac has seemingly chosen a driver pairing with a fountain of racing knowledge, and despite this, it feels like both drivers have a point to prove upon their return.
After a period of three non-competitive seasons, Bottas found himself being released from his Sauber seat at the end of 2024 with the team looking to restructure their driver line-up. Following his exit from the team, the Fin would find himself in a season long reserve-driver role at Mercedes, until eventually securing a seat with the new-guys on the grid, Cadillac.
In an interview with Sky Sports, Bottas explained that “I feel like I still have lots to give the sport and I still love it. I love racing against the best drivers in the world in the best cars in the world – that’s what I love.”
It’s evident that despite the non-renewal of Bottas’ contract, the Fin was not done with Formula One, and clearly still has a lot to prove within the sport.
In an interview with Cadillac, he went on to say that “Joining the Cadillac Formula One Team is an incredibly exciting new chapter in my career […] It’s an honour to be part of a building team that can develop together so that, in time, we will fight at the very front.”
Bottas’ words send a very clear message – he wants to get back on the grid, and he wants to add to that 10-win tally.
Perez faced a similar fate at Red Bull, losing his seat at the end of 2024 due to a drop in performance in comparison to his former teammate Max Verstappen. Despite signing a contract extension with the team that summer, the Mexican driver scored just nine points in the last eight Grands Prix, largely contributing to Red Bull failing to retain their Constructors’ Championship, resulting in the early termination of his contract.
In an interview with ESPN regarding his departure from the sport, Perez said that “In the end, that’s how the sport is. Decisions were made because there was too much pressure that they [Red Bull] themselves ended up creating.”
“People might think I’m happy about it, but no… we had a great team, and in the end it fell apart, little by little.”
The Mexican was clearly unhappy in his treatment towards the end of his time at Red Bull, something which may shine through in his performances in this upcoming season – not only does he have a point to prove to himself, he also has a point to prove to Red Bull.
Perez took to the podium just four times in 2024, taking his last Formula One victory at Baku in 2023. A victory for Bottas would be even further away, with the Fin’s last victory being found in 2021 at Istanbul.
Both drivers enter their Cadillac seats with a point to prove, Bottas wanting to give more to a sport he knows he was never done with, and Perez knowing that he has more to show than his last few seasons at Red Bull had to offer.
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