Valtteri Bottas will be on the move to Cadillac next season, but he will only be able to test for the American team at the end of the 2025 campaign after Mercedes blocks a test between the Finn and the American team.
As well as that, GPblog’s interview with Toto Wolff reveals a tough conversation he had with Lewis Hamilton, and there is some analysis on the Red Bull and Ford partnership for the 2026 season.
Today, GPblog learned that Valtteri Bottas would not be able to test drive for Cadillac during the 2025 season, with Mercedes blocking that move.
The current reserve driver for the third team will make the move to the brand-new F1 team for the 2026 season, but he will only be allowed to get behind the wheel for Cadillac once the 2025 campain is concluded.
Bottas will remain connected to the German team and is reportedly agreeing with his current employer’s decision. Cadillac, which will use Ferrari power units before the team develops its own engine, will get Bottas running in an old Ferrari F1 car for his test.
Speaking in an interview with GPblog, Toto Wolff has spoken about the conversations he had with Lewis Hamilton surrounding his contract and subsequent move to Ferrari.
Before the 2024 season got underway, it was announced that Hamilton would be moving to the Scuderia after 12 seasons at the German team, exercising the option in his 1 + 1 deal to move to the Italian team.
Wolff said that, in hindsight, it was good that Hamilton had made the choice himself, since that meant he no longer had to conduct the difficult conversation with his friend and seven-time world champion.
There is plenty to like about what Red Bull and Ford are working towards and building for the 2026 season.
The move to the American manufacturer and to use their brand-new powertrain gave the Austrian team something of an uphill battle, as admitted by Laurent Mekies himself.
However, after Max Verstappen’s win at the Italian Grand Prix, the Dutchman and Mekies went to Milton Keynes to visit the Red Bull Ford Powertrains project, continuing to build and work together as they look to return to the front of the grid.
