After months of hype in the course of the build-up to its debut, the Cadillac crew has failed to attain a single level in the course of the F1 2026 season, and all through the USA Grand Prix weekend, rumours about potential replacements started to fly.
These rumours have recommended that one of many crew’s drivers, Valtteri Bottas, may lose his Method 1 seat for 2027. And, in response to crew CEO Dan Towriss, his alternative might be none apart from Colton Herta.
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Valtteri Bottas alternative rumours run rampant
Cadillac went all-out for its first United States Grand Prix as an official crew. A particular livery, cowboy hats for crew members, and a fan-forward occasion on Friday evening paved the best way for a less-than-impressive occasion on Sunday: Valtteri Bottas retired from the race, whereas Sergio Perez completed nineteenth, the final driver working on monitor.
But all through the weekend, a thread emerged: Bottas may discover himself and not using a seat in 2027.
The rumours stemmed from a remark made by crew principal Marcin Budkowski in the course of the weekend’s crew boss press convention. Requested about future choices for 2027, he replied, “As a crew principal, and I’m positive it’s the identical with my colleagues, you’re getting calls and contacts from each driver or driver supervisor that’s in the marketplace.
“So, there are a selection of drivers and managers who’ve contacted me. I’m not going to say who it’s or who it isn’t, however just about all of them which might be in the marketplace have been in contact, as you’d anticipate.
“However sure, I feel it’s the final place right here, as you possibly can think about, the place I might talk something on driver line-up. My advertising and communications division would kill me if I did that!”
Budkowski was requested on to if each Bottas and Perez had contracts for 2027, to which he replied, “That is the final place I might touch upon driver contracts, and typically, I feel it’s not one thing that’s carried out within the press.
“It’s one thing which can be carried out by official releases from the crew when the time is correct.”
Perez is known to have a contract within the works. That would depart Bottas the odd man out come 2027.
Colton Herta emerges as potential Bottas alternative
If Bottas is out of the image, who may exchange him? In line with Cadillac CEO Dan Towriss, the reply might be none apart from Colton Herta.
Talking to SiriusXM on the grid earlier than the race, Towriss mentioned, “I feel over the following few weeks we’ll have the ability to discuss extra about what we’re doing on drivers. Clearly we’ve bought Checo and Valtteri on contract, we love what they’re doing. Clearly Valtteri has had just a few races the place he’s been off the race tempo, so we’re speaking about that, and we’ll see what occurs.”
When he was requested instantly if that meant Herta may have an opportunity on the F1 crew, Towriss replied, “Yeah, there’s all the time an opportunity.”
The 26-year-old American driver left behind a profession within the IndyCar sequence to enter Method 2 in 2026 with a watch to securing the Tremendous License factors required to maneuver as much as F1 sooner or later. Nonetheless, it’s been a troublesome yr. On the time of writing, Herta is nineteenth within the standings, having scored simply 26 factors. A end that low within the working order is not going to give Herta any Tremendous License factors for 2027.
Nonetheless, there’s nonetheless an opportunity that Herta may amass sufficient Tremendous License factors however.
In the intervening time, it’s unclear what number of SL factors Herta possesses. Cadillac maintains that he holds 39 factors after his most up-to-date FP1 outing in Austin, whereas different calculations depart him with 38 — both one or two factors shy of the license, relying on the mathematics.
It’s essential that Herta safe his license this yr; come January 1, 2027, Herta will lose 30 factors that he amassed for a runner-up end within the IndyCar championship in 2024. With a view to safe these factors, he may participate in extra FP1 outings at upcoming races like Mexico Metropolis. After hitting 40 factors, he may apply for his license earlier than the tip of the season.
As soon as a driver holds a Tremendous License, he solely wants to point out that he has pushed no less than 100 km at an F1-sanctioned occasion within the earlier three years in an effort to obtain a renewal.