After Cadillac announced the signing of the multiple race winners as the team’s debut driver pairing, Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas will return to the starting lineup for the 2015 season.
The General Motors-backed outfit announced on Tuesday, “Mexico and Finn, both have multiyear deals,” without providing further information.
Perez, a six-time champion, and Bottas, a Mercedes driver, both won ten races, are 35 years old and have unfinished business after being dropped by Red Bull and Sauber teams, a respective, in 2024.
Although some younger prospects had been touted, the announcement was anticipated.
In a video conference with reporters, team CEO Dan Towriss stated that “we think their experience, their leadership, and their technical acumen are really what we need.”
“We’re humbled by their faith in us in this project because it’s the right combination – the right drivers at the right time.”
Both men worked for Mercedes alongside two of the sport’s legends: Bottas as a sidekick to Lewis Hamilton, who is now seven-time world champion, and Perez with four-time world champion Max Verstappen at Red Bull.
Additionally, they have a total of 106 podium appearances and more than 500 race starts between them (Bottas 246 and Perez 281).
Towriss expressed concern for Perez, particularly as he attempted to “put in the rearview mirror” his most recent performance slump with Red Bull.
He continued, “We had questions, we had scepticism, and he answered all of our questions and won our tests with flying colors.”
As the 11th team, Cadillac will face a steep learning curve as it enters the new engine era, which will allow it to use Ferrari power units until 2029 when General Motors aims to have its own.
Perez and Bottas, who are currently Mercedes reserve this year, both expressed excitement about the start of afresh.
This is a long-term vision, not just a racing project. Not every day does it occur to you to get a chance to help build something from the ground up and make it something that truly belongs on the F1 grid,” Bottas said.
“I’ve had the honor of working with some of the world’s best teams, and I can already see this level of professionalism and hunger.”
Perez expressed his pride in being a part of such a challenging and important project from beginning to end. I think we can work together to make this team a real contender.
Source: Aljazeera
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