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Cadillac could be on the verge of making a significant driver change in its debut Formula 1 season, with reports indicating that Valtteri Bottas may be shown the door in favour of American test driver Colton Herta.
According to Sky Italia and German publication BILD, Bottas' performances relative to teammate Sergio Perez have been underwhelming enough to put his seat in jeopardy — a striking development just five races into the Silverstone-based outfit's maiden campaign.
When Cadillac unveiled its debut driver line-up midway through last season, the choice of two seasoned, high-profile names provoked immediate debate. Fans had been vocal in their desire for at least one rookie to be handed an opportunity with the new American entry, but the team's rationale was clear: both Bottas and Perez were experienced, highly-motivated, and eager to return to the grid after difficult exits from their previous teams.
Bottas had lost his seat at Sauber, while Perez's dismissal from Red Bull — a particularly contentious episode — came so late in the calendar that no realistic alternative presented itself, leaving the Mexican to sit out the entire season. Bottas, by contrast, was able to return to Mercedes as a reserve driver in the interim, keeping himself sharp ahead of the Cadillac opportunity.
The logic of pairing two drivers with something to prove seemed sound enough. Yet five races into the season, the performance balance within the garage appears to be telling a different story — one that is now reportedly prompting hard conversations within the team.
Should Cadillac decide to act, the reports point to Herta as the leading internal candidate. The former IndyCar standout has been embedded within the team's ecosystem, serving as test driver while simultaneously competing in Formula 2 with a Cadillac-backed Hitech entry — a deliberate pathway designed to accumulate the FIA Super License points he would need before any F1 race seat becomes available to him.
Critically, his standing within the team has reportedly grown considerably. Sources suggest Herta has made a strong impression on those inside the organisation, giving him a meaningful edge should a decision ultimately be taken.
The Cadillac-Perez relationship has not been without its own turbulence either — Perez recently called for a team investigation after a suspension failure ended his Canadian Grand Prix prematurely — but it is the Bottas side of the garage that is generating the most pointed speculation.
The speculation is perhaps made more surprising by earlier signals that pointed toward a positive relationship between Bottas and the team's leadership. Motorsport Week had reported as recently as last June that the Finn and Team Principal Graeme Lowdon appeared in close, harmonious company during the Monaco Grand Prix weekend — hardly the image of a driver under pressure.
And then, of course, there was the moment that briefly made Bottas a social media sensation again: a clip in which the Finn theatrically "discovered" a Cadillac Escalade road car, opened the door, and proclaimed it a "nice seat" — a joke that landed well with fans and suggested someone entirely comfortable in his new surroundings.
Yet comfort off-track cannot substitute for results on it, and results, it appears, are what the conversations inside Cadillac are now centred upon.
For its part, the team has pushed back firmly on the reports. A Cadillac spokesperson told Motorsport Week that they "strongly refuted the claims" — a denial that, in Formula 1, is rarely the final word on any matter.
He’s a software engineer with a deep passion for Formula 1 and motorsport. He co-founded Formula Live Pulse to make live telemetry and race insights accessible, visual, and easy to follow.