Poor marks for Valtteri Bottas: motivation called into question

Both Valtteri Bottas and Sergio ‘Checo’ Pérez were well aware that the 2026 season would be a difficult one. After all, the two veterans could not expect great success from their new employer, Cadillac; the US team is, after all, the big newcomer to the Formula 1 field. As expected, the results have been modest.

After the first eleven rounds of the World Championship, Bottas and Pérez occupy the bottom two places in the drivers’ standings. Together with Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll, they form the trio of drivers who have yet to score a single point this year. Bottas has only finished six of the eleven Grands Prix held so far this season, whilst Pérez has at least seen the chequered flag seven times. The Mexican nevertheless sits bottom of the World Championship standings.

Nevertheless, the former Red Bull Racing star has been given a better rating by Günther Steiner for his performances this year. Speaking on ‘The Red Flags’ podcast about the driver from Guadalajara, the former Haas team principal said: “He gets a C rating because he’s trying his best, and when the car doesn’t break down, it’s just slow. There’s not much he can do about that.”

No easy task for the Cadillac duo

“So you have to judge the effort the drivers are putting in, because in a situation like this, it’s easy to get frustrated and just give up. Hats off to Checo, and a bit to Valtteri too, because they’re still pushing on, and that’s not easy given the resources they have,” the South Tyrolean continues.

Nevertheless, Steiner rates Bottas’s performance lower. “I think you have to give him a D; Pérez is simply better than him at the moment. As things stand, it looks as though Valtteri has already given up on what Pérez is trying to do,” he says, predicting: “If Cadillac has to replace a driver, I reckon it’ll be Valtteri. His results aren’t that good. I think he was expecting something different.”

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In the season’s most recent showdown at the Hungaroring, neither of the two Cadillac drivers saw the chequered flag. Bottas retired on lap 14 with burning brakes, whilst Pérez completed 48 of the 70 race laps.