‘Absolutely’ a scenario where Bottas retains Cadillac seat - Towriss

Cadillac Formula 1 Team CEO Dan Towriss says there is “absolutely” a scenario where Valtteri Bottas can retain his seat for 2027, and that he’s enjoying seeing the Finn fight for his future.

Bottas is under contract for next season but Cadillac has been running Colton Herta in multiple FP1 sessions in order to secure the Super License required for Herta to race in F1. After tying down Sergio Perez to a long-term deal, Towriss told RACER the push behind Herta at present doesn’t preclude Bottas from keeping his drive.

“Absolutely [he can keep his seat],” said Towriss (pictured at left, above, with Bottas), speaking prior to the Mexico City Grand Prix where a car failure resulted in Bottas crashing heavily at Turn 1. “We absolutely love Valtteri, and he’s done everything we’ve asked of him. And I’m really even seeing him kind of step up and rise to the challenge. I like to see, as we’re learning drivers, what is he like under pressure?

“And so, as we’re even talking about this, this obviously puts more pressure on the driver. Watching Valtteri respond to it, he’s an absolute pro. I mean, he’s just, he’s getting after it, and so I want to see what he does … I mean, he’s a champ. He’s going to fight, fight, fight, and so [we] love everything that he does as well. And so we’re not in a hurry to make any decision here. We're just going to focus on racing.”

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Despite not closing the door on Bottas, Towriss says he has been impressed by Herta’s progression in F1 machinery, even if his Formula 2 season has been disappointing.

“We all know F2 is not the barometer for Formula 1. It’s a great series, but that car doesn’t tell you everything you need to know about Formula 1,” Towriss said. “Even coming off of a weekend in Madrid where he had a pretty terrible weekend, it was shortly after that he did a TPC run and it was very strong.

“He did 500 kilometers in the car. His FP1s have been strong, and so we’re seeing somebody who's learning and building and making the case for a seat possibly for next year.”

Should Bottas be retained alongside Perez, however, Towriss admits it does leave Herta’s future pathway to an F1 drive unclear, with the American not expected to consider another year in F2.

“I think he could do the Indy 500. There’s not an open seat in IndyCar, [but] there could be some sports car seats, rides available as well. So it would be piecing things together.

“I think it’s really hard to say [what it would mean for his F1 hopes]. I think we’re just taking it one week at a time.”