Ralf Schumacher urges Cadillac to replace Bottas with Ocon
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher said Valtteri Bottas' story is finished and Cadillac should sign Esteban Ocon.
Bottas, winless with Cadillac this season, insists he has a contract for 2027.
Background
Valtteri Bottas is a 37-year-old Finnish Formula 1 driver with ten Grand Prix wins from his time at Mercedes (2017-2021). He returned to F1 in 2026 with Cadillac, the grid's newest team, alongside Sergio Perez, but neither has scored a point in the team's debut campaign and Bottas has retired eight times this season. Ralf Schumacher, a former F1 driver turned pundit, argued on a Sky Deutschland podcast that Cadillac should replace him with French Haas driver Esteban Ocon, who has no confirmed seat for 2027. The talk comes as new Cadillac team boss Marcin Budkowski, who worked with Ocon at Alpine, settles in after Bottas and Perez were signed under his predecessor Graeme Lowdon.
How it unfolded
- Oct 16, 2026Asked by the Financial Times whether Cadillac's facilities beat Mercedes' Brackley outfit, Bottas said "I would say so", pointing to Cadillac's operational Silverstone facility while US sites in Indiana and North Carolina are still under construction.
- Oct 19, 2026Bottas announced the winner of his race-worn rhino helmet fundraiser for South African charity Care for Wild, raising almost €50,000; the helmet was designed by his partner, Australian cyclist Tiffany Cromwell.
- Oct 20, 2026Coopers Brewery appointed Bottas a brand ambassador and "Quality Assurance Trainee", with a campaign across Australian outback towns after his return from the Singapore Grand Prix.
- Oct 20, 2026Ralf Schumacher said Bottas should leave F1 as Esteban Ocon continued to be linked with his Cadillac seat.
- Oct 22, 2026On Sky Deutschland's Backstage Boxengasse podcast, Schumacher urged Cadillac to sign Ocon as Sergio Perez's 2027 teammate; pundit Peter Hardenacke agreed Ocon could be an option.
Who’s saying what
- Caution
- Ralf Schumacher said Bottas' story is "simply finished" and that Cadillac should take Ocon "immediately" if he is available, calling the criticism purely sporting rather than personal.
- Analysts
- Pundit Peter Hardenacke said Ocon could be one of Cadillac's options, noting team boss Marcin Budkowski knows him well from their years together at Alpine.
- Support
- Bottas said "I have a contract and I'll be here in 2027", pointing to steady improvement in how the team operates and saying he should still have years left compared with Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton.
Still unverified
F1-insider.com claimed Bottas's Malaysia-to-Singapore ride was not agreed with new Cadillac team boss Marcin Budkowski, feeding speculation about their relationship; reports also suggest removing Bottas would require a substantial payout while Cadillac owner TWG faces financial pressures.