Bottas confident Cadillac contract will be approved

Valtteri Bottas says he remains confident he will stay with Cadillac in 2027 despite the team’s increasingly public evaluation of alternatives.

When asked in Mexico whether he expected to drive for Cadillac next season, the Finn said: "I think it would make sense. That’s what it says on paper, and that’s why I’m quite confident."

He admitted, however, that unlike Sergio Perez, he has not signed a fresh extension.

"Checo signed an extension, I haven’t signed another extension yet," Bottas confirmed.

"But in a big company there are always board meetings where final decisions are made, and I believe they will be soon."

"Everything just needs to be confirmed by the big bosses in the United States."

Team boss Marcin Budkowski, however, again stopped short of guaranteeing Bottas’ place.

"There’s a time and a place for these kinds of announcements," he said.

"We are not in any particular hurry regarding the second place."

Budkowski nevertheless said Cadillac remains broadly satisfied with the Finn.

"Overall, yes," he said.

"In some races, Valtteri has had, as you can probably tell, a bit more difficulty with race pace. When he performs well, he is very, very close to Checo’s pace, especially in qualifying."

"He is a great guy and a good team player."

Bottas also argued that Cadillac’s own reliability and operational problems have hurt him badly.

"There have been so many problems behind the scenes, and I think I’ve had the worst of them," said the 37-year-old former Mercedes driver.

Budkowski conceded: "As a new team, we have to accept that we have not been able to give the drivers the best equipment in every practice and race."

Indeed, Bottas suffered a frightening suspension failure in the Mexican GP and was sent to the medical centre.

Cadillac later said he was "fine" and excused him from mandatory post-race media duties while the team began a detailed investigation into the failure.