RacingValtteri Bottas is swimming against the tide. While grumbling about the 2026 cars grows around the paddock, the Cadillac F1 driver says he is enjoying them — and he is simply happy to be racing again after a year as Mercedes’ reserve.
Bottas’ comeback with newcomer Cadillac lands right as Formula 1’s new rules reshape the driving challenge, with more to manage from the power unit and deployment. He set the tone by leaning into the change rather than pushing back. “Always when there’s a change, initially for the first quarter, always, somebody complains. But I think we’re now starting to get used to it, and we’re still trying to optimise everything with the PU. But it’s certainly different,” Valtteri Bottas, the Cadillac F1 driver, said speaking to media including RacingNews365.
He spelled out what is new inside the cockpit. “There’s more thinking to do as a driver. There are more things that can go wrong with the deployment, whether it’s about qualifying or the race. But that’s the same for everybody,” Valtteri Bottas, the Cadillac F1 driver, said speaking to media including RacingNews365.
The bigger story for him is simply being back on the grid. He spent 2025 on standby at Mercedes, then stepped into a full-time seat with Cadillac for 2026. “I’m just really happy to be back, happy to be racing in F1,” Valtteri Bottas, the Cadillac F1 driver, said speaking to media including RacingNews365.
That sets his tone when asked about complaints from elsewhere. He is not joining in. “I don’t see any reason to complain. It is different, but I’m enjoying the car. The cars are fun to drive, the racing has been good. You might need to manage a bit more here and there, but it’s just different,” Valtteri Bottas, the Cadillac F1 driver, said speaking to media including RacingNews365.
Bottas’ stance does two things at once. It reflects a veteran’s habit of adapting quickly when the rulebook shifts, and it shows where his head is after a year out of a race seat. He accepts the extra thinking time and the risk around deployment as part of the job, and he frames the new era as something to optimize rather than fight.
He is not promising results, and he is not trying to set the agenda for others. He is keeping it simple: learn the car, manage what the rules ask, and enjoy the racing. In a season where many are weighing the cost of change, Bottas sounds content to get on with it.