Could Budkowski still drop Bottas before next season?
Bottas is said to be contracted into 2027, yet his new team boss will not confirm the line-up, and a Finnish report already has Ocon and Tsunoda in the frame.
Valtteri Bottas' Cadillac future is again under scrutiny despite the Finn reportedly being contracted through at least the end of 2027.
Both Bottas and Sergio Perez signed multi-year deals when Cadillac entered Formula 1, with contemporary reporting putting both under contract for next season.
But brand new team boss Marcin Budkowski has notably stopped short of guaranteeing the current pairing.
"I'm very happy with the drivers we have, two experienced drivers who are helping us develop the team," he told AFP at Monza.
"When we have things to announce, we will announce them."
That ambiguity has fuelled fresh speculation in Finland, where Ilta-Sanomat's Janne Oivio reports Bottas could still lose his seat as Budkowski reshapes the team.
One possible factor is the relationship between the pair, which is not believed to be especially close, while Perez also brings significant commercial backing.
Oivio names Esteban Ocon as one potential replacement, pointing out that Budkowski knows him well from Alpine and was there when Ocon won the 2021 Hungarian GP.
"At Monza, Esteban Ocon's name was raised as a possible replacement for Bottas," the correspondent said.
Yuki Tsunoda is another name mentioned, with the Japanese driver having impressed since returning to Racing Bulls and also bringing backing of his own.
Colton Herta, however, appears unlikely after he "flopped badly" since moving into Formula 2, according to Oivio.
For now, Budkowski is keeping his options open.
"Right now, my priorities are the organisation of the team and the performance of the car."
"I'm very happy with the drivers we have," he said.
Related: Bottas expects to stay as Cadillac keeps changing leaders
2 F1 Fan comments on “Could Budkowski still drop Bottas before next season?”
💬 Join the conversation — see the latest comments from F1 fans →
What's your F1 fan opinion?
You need a free F1-Fansite account to join the conversation. Log in or sign up, it only takes a moment.
Please follow our commenting guidelines.
I actually read that article earlier today & it couldn’t be further from the truth since Cadillac isn’t about to change drivers after only one season anyway.
Besides, Towriss’ words are more relevant, & he’s been abundantly clear that they’re happy with their drivers & aren’t about to change.
The claim about Ocon is also totally unfounded because he hasn’t even been mentioned anywhere, let alone by any highly reliable or reputable publications, & he’ll clearly end up without a drive altogether for next season if Haas lets him go, since no team would let either driver go for him.
Their eventual first driver change will only happen for an American driver.
Additionally, nothing to announce since both are under contract anyway, meaning that nothing will change unless something more drastic happens.
The Cadillac situation isn’t even the only thing the author of this article totally ignores, as he also ignores the fact that Tsunoda won’t succeed in a full-time return anyway & the substitute appearance won’t change anything, especially since he hasn’t shown anything special & nothing different in principle from the last five seasons, over which everyone could see his overall potential as an F1 driver; not to mention, if Cadillac were actually interested in his services or he were an objectively superior option to Bottas, they would’ve chosen him over Bottas in the first place.
I’ve simply been perplexed by the amount of unfounded claims by different journalists & publications that contradict each other, the relevant parties, & the direction of travel.
Ocon being replaced by either Camara or Fornaroli is the only change that’ll happen, if any.
Cadillac just doesn’t have any reason to change after only one season, given that drivers aren’t even a problem & the absence of definitively superior options.
I forgot to mention that no team would sacrifice either of their current drivers for Tsunoda either, since he even more clearly isn’t an objectively superior option to any current full-time driver than Ocon.
Simply a matter of tough luck for both.
They’d have a chance for a full-time driver in another team only if someone voluntarily left.