Dan Towriss plays down reports that Cadillac will sack Valtteri Bottas after F1 2026, as the Finn notes changes hasn’t helped him so far in Monaco GP.
Between the races in Canada and Monaco, reports suggested that Cadillac would drop Bottas after F1 2026 and put Colton Herta for the full season. The Finn termed the “headline and clicks” news as “bullshit”, when asked on Thursday of F1 Monaco GP.
TWG Motorsports’ CEO Towriss has concurred with the Finn’s sentiment. The American is surprised by such news floating around – feeling of progress made by the team. He says they are happy with both the drivers as things are at the moment.
Towrris taken aback by rumours around Bottas
“I think Graeme [Lowdon] was very clear in that piece,” said Towriss in the press conference. “We’re just a few races in and so Valtteri is doing everything that we can ask. And so, I think when I first saw some of the news, my reaction was, “Wow, we’ve actually shown enough progress that people are starting to mess with our drivers.”
“Apparently, Checo’s leaving and Valtteri is going to be sacked, and we’ll be left with no drivers. So clearly, we’re happy with both of them, they’re committed to us and we’re committed to them,” summed up Towriss, who is pleased with the feedback provided by both the experienced F1 drivers.
The main consideration of Cadillac to pick Bottas and Sergio Perez was the experience factor, which is needed for a brand new F1 team to solve the basic problems. They are at the back of the field, fighting with Aston Martin, but the Mexican has fared slightly better than the Finn in the five races so far.
Feedback important from both Perez, Bottas
Even though Bottas is placed higher in the drivers’ standings – due to the best result of 13th – Perez has managed to extract more out the car. Towriss has acknowledged the differences, but he is confident that the Finn will come through once he gets the car to his liking.
“Yeah, I mean, obviously their feedback is very important to the development of the car,” continued Towriss. “I think both drivers are doing exactly what we want them to do. I think we’ve seen a rejuvenated Checo on track, just really admire how much fun he’s having racing.
“You’re seeing the confidence build, the feedback growing. Progress isn’t always linear, so obviously Valtteri is not at the same pace as Checo, but he’s doing all the things that we’re asking, and his feedback is helpful as well as we’re looking to do things to secure the rear of the car and things like that.
“So yeah, it’s great, and again, both very instrumental in moving this car forward,” summed up Towriss, who reiterated his confidence that Bottas will stay put at Cadillac. He simply put down the differences to liking and feeling of drivers to the car, which he thinks the Finn will be able to overcome.
Towrris confident that Bottas will come through like Perez is going
“We’re very confident to have Valtteri on the team,” said Towriss. “We have the utmost respect for him. And just to be clear, there have been no discussions about Valtteri’s performance impacting his future with the team. We’re committed to Valtteri, like I said, and Valtteri is committed to us.
“I think as this car is developing, it obviously needs, we need to continue to find more downforce on the car, and every driver feels that differently, and progress isn’t always linear in that sense. And so, what Checo feels today is he’s progressing, and I’m confident that Valtteri will be there very, very soon.”
Ride height change hasn’t made things better for Bottas
Bottas, meanwhile, tried changing the set-up via ride height from Canada to Monaco, but things hasn’t changed for him by much. He qualified 20th as opposed to Perez’s 18th place but the time difference stands at 0.536s, which is stark between teammates.
He noted that there was nothing more he could have done with the car, which makes the time difference all the more intriguing. “No, we tried really everything with the car setup this weekend to get the ride better,” said Bottas in the print media pen after F1 Monaco GP qualifying.
“We got it a tiny bit better but it’s still not good enough. And the more we try to make the ride better then we lose load with the ride heights and stuff. So it’s tricky, that’s clearly one area we’ve got to improve. It’s the kerbing, it’s how the car takes the bumps.
Bottas extracted the maximum in F1 Monaco GP qualifying
“But yeah, it’s been pretty tricky out there this weekend. Yeah, I need to have a look. Those two last laps in the end of quali, I felt like from my side I couldn’t get anything more out of it. I have a feeling that I just can’t get more. So yeah, it’s a bit of a weird situation.
“But yeah, I think still Q2 was out of reach and it’s still less at this point for us. But hopefully we get things in a better shape in the future,” summed up Bottas. In the meantime, Towriss also addressed Herta’s situation in F2, especially after missing the famed IndyCar round of Indy 500 for the first time in many seasons.
Herta’s progress
The American is 13th in the drivers’ standings with 16 points and is yet to have an extraordinary performance. Towriss highlighted the learning of new process, especially the tyres that he is not used to. “We certainly expected to see the ups and downs,” he said.
“I think a big part of the Formula 2 journey was to learn tracks and tyres, and obviously in Formula 1, one-lap pace is so important, being able to get your tyres ready and go out and do the one lap.
“And these are very different tyres than what Colton’s raced on his entire career, and so relearning that, learning new tracks as we go – this is his first time to race in Monaco. So, love the progress that he’s making, and everything’s on track, and it’s really going about how we expected.”
