Valtteri Bottas’ amenable relationship with Mercedes is set to stand him in good stead as he transitions over to work with his new Cadillac F1 team.

Bottas is currently Mercedes’ reserve driver, but has signed a deal to race with the Cadillac squad as the American manufacturer arrives on the grid.

Valtteri Bottas: Mercedes has been really supportive

Bottas was dropped from Sauber’s driver line-up at the conclusion of the F1 2024 season, but found refuge at his former stable by returning to Mercedes as its reserve driver for this season.

Bottas previously raced with Mercedes between 2017 and ’21, and his contributions to the five consecutive Constructors’ Championships during his tenure meant that his slotting back in at the Brackley-based squad was a particularly smooth one, given his existing relationships.

While the Finn hasn’t had the chance to get behind the wheel for a Grand Prix as a substitute for either George Russell or Kimi Antonelli, his experience and proven ability as a Grand Prix winner made him an attractive candidate for a return to the grid next season, and the burgeoning Cadillac squad has plumped for his experience as well as pairing him with fellow Grand Prix winner and veteran Sergio Perez.

Unlike Bottas, Perez is completely without a team affiliation this year and, as a result, has had a minor head start on Bottas by way of being able to carry out some simulator work with Cadillac, while the team is set to observe a full F1 test amidst ongoing efforts to secure a car to allow for a test of its own.

Bottas, due to his Mercedes contract, is not officially due to start work with Cadillac until January 1st, but has revealed there are some conversations between his current boss, Toto Wolff, and future boss, Graeme Lowdon, about ways he can contribute to Cadillac without there being any concerns on Mercedes’ side regarding the transfer of pertinent knowledge that Bottas could bring with him during these transitionary months.

Speaking to Crash.net ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix, Bottas revealed how Mercedes has been very supportive of his efforts to return to the grid.

“There have been talks,” Bottas confirmed regarding Mercedes and Cadillac.

“I think Graeme and Toto; they’ve been in talks as well. Mercedes has been really supportive of the transition, so I don’t think they’re going to block me in any way.

“There have already been discussions between me and Cadillac with online meetings and stuff like that, which I’m allowed to do, and that’s fine.

“Everyone understands that there’s a lot of work to do, and there’s already some driver feedback that they need for certain things.

“Obviously, I’ll start with Cadillac in January, but there will be a few things I could do here and there before that.”

One of these few things is potentially simulator work, with Bottas confirming intent to have discussions regarding the possibility of climbing behind the wheel of Cadillac’s virtual 2026 car.

It’s understood by PlanetF1.com that, at present, Mercedes is open to evaluating requests made on a case-by-case basis over the remaining months of Bottas’ contract, including requests regarding simulator work, given the broad spectrum of the work this may entail.

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Both Perez and Bottas recently visited Cadillac’s growing F1 facility near the Silverstone circuit, with the Finn expressing his surprise at just how mature the infrastructure in place is already – no doubt helped by the supervision of Lowdon, whose previous experience includes a tenure as the CEO of the Manor/Marussia F1 team a decade ago.

“I didn’t actually expect everything to be that advanced. But I guess they started quite a while ago,” Bottas said of the enterprise.

“There’s obviously still lots of work to do, but what I’ve seen so far has been impressive and gives me more confidence for the future.”

It’s been an unusual year for Bottas, having not raced during a season for the first time since his year as Williams’ reserve and test driver in 2012.

Having made it clear that 2025 would not spell the end of his racing career, Bottas said he’s raring to go to climb back behind the wheel of a single-seater and go racing once more.

“It definitely feels like Melbourne can’t come soon enough,” he said.

“Even in the first test, it’s going to be a huge moment for the team, building a team and a car from scratch. Those kinds of highlights along the way are going to be really nice to be part of.

“Just every weekend, I miss racing more and more. So yeah, I’m really keen to get going.”

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