Guenther Steiner Shocks F1 World by Telling Cadillac to Reject Sergio Perez and Sign a Five-DNF Driver to Partner Bottas. Is This the Bold Move That Will Change F1 Forever?

Cadillac are working to finalise their first driver line-up ahead of the General Motors team debuting in Formula 1 in 2026, with Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas in the mix.

The American crew are yet to sign a driver to lead their arrival in the pinnacle of motorsport next term. But Cadillac are engaged in talks with a flurry of drivers as team principal Graeme Lowdon strives to sign at least one experienced name, but he is not opposed to a youngster.

Bottas and Perez both slipping off the grid after the 2024 F1 season pushed the veteran pair firmly onto Cadillac’s radar for 2026. The Finn won 10 of his 246 Grand Prix starts between 2013 and 2024, while the Mexican won six races from his 281 starts between 2011 and ‘24.

Progress has also been made in the General Motors brand’s negotiations with the former. It is said that Bottas and Cadillac have now agreed on the terms of a contract. The 35-year-old has not signed the deal, yet the framework is in place should the Finn accept Cadillac’s offer.

Photo by Mark Sutton – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images

Guenther Steiner thinks Mick Schumacher has a ‘good chance’ to join Cadillac in 2026

Bottas’ position is not unlike the Mexican’s as Perez and Cadillac agreed on the terms of his contract earlier this year, as well. But the 35-year-old held off on putting pen to paper then as Perez was waiting to see if a chance would potentially emerge to join Mercedes in 2026.

Perez and Bottas are also not the only names on the shortlist, and Guenther Steiner believes Cadillac should consider offering Mick Schumacher his return to Formula 1. The former Haas boss believes his old driver also has a ‘good chance’ to get one of the seats at the GM brand.

Lowdon has confirmed that Cadillac are speaking with Schumacher, who Steiner claims can ‘help’ thanks to what he learned as Mercedes’ reserve driver across 2023 and 2024. He also has further experience of racing for a factory as the 26-year-old races for Alpine in the WEC.

Steiner told sport.de: “I think Mick has a good chance. Cadillac need a driver with Formula 1 experience, and there aren’t many drivers currently who don’t have a job but have driven in Formula 1.

“When he was a test driver at Mercedes, he didn’t race but he learned a lot about a good, large team. This knowledge of how a successful team works could help Cadillac.”

Guenther Steiner would sign Valtteri Bottas and Mick Schumacher if he were in charge of Cadillac

Photo by MARK SUTTON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Steiner considers Schumacher one of the ‘four favourites’ to join Cadillac along with Bottas, Perez and Zhou Guanyu. Yet if he were in Lowdon’s shoes, Steiner would look to pair Bottas and Schumacher, given they both know how Mercedes work and the ‘work ethic’ required.

“He and Mick both worked at Mercedes and learned the same work ethic,” Steiner added.

Schumacher drove for Haas under Steiner’s watch during the 2021 and 2022 seasons after making his debut for the American-owned team. The German achieved a total of 12 points from 43 Grand Prix starts after his P8 in the 2022 British GP and P6 in the 2022 Austrian GP.

But the son of the seven-time F1 champion Michael Schumacher also failed to finish five of his 43 starts from 44 entries. Mick registered three DNFs in his rookie season plus two as a sophomore, on top of failing to start the 2022 Saudi Arabian GP after crashing in qualifying.