Valtteri Bottas linked with mid-season Formula 1 seat ahead of 2026 Cadillac move

Bottas told reporters at the Belgian Grand Prix that a deal with Cadillac was close, but no agreement has been signed yet. Both sides are still finalising details as the team prepares for their F1 entry.

However, there’s a chance he could be back racing even before then, with reports from sport.de suggesting he could take over Franco Colapinto’s seat at Alpine this season. It hasn’t been ruled out that Bottas could step in for the rest of 2025.

Alpine are expected to move on from Colapinto during the summer break following the Hungarian Grand Prix. The 22-year-old, who took over from Jack Doohan in May, hasn’t scored any points in seven races, with a best finish of P13.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is reportedly pushing for Bottas to fill that role. If it happens, he could take over starting with the Dutch Grand Prix from August 29-31. Flavio Briatore, Alpine’s executive adviser, will make a decision on Colapinto’s future over the summer break.

Flavio Briatore has yet to see Franco Colapinto prove he was the right choice over Jack Doohan

Colapinto is under increasing pressure to hold onto his seat at Alpine, having been brought in by Briatore after Jack Doohan went seven races without a point. So far, Colapinto hasn’t shown he’s much of an improvement.

Briatore was already ‘not happy at all’ with Colapinto’s form in June, and things haven’t improved much since then. The Buenos Aires native’s best qualifying result remains a P12 in Canada, with four Q1 exits so far.

However, what might buy him some time is that Bottas reportedly isn’t eager to step in right away. That hesitation could give Colapinto the window he needs to regroup during the break and finally start showing why Alpine brought him in.

Colapinto will need to justify his five-season loan deal from Williams soon enough. Alpine are paying him £4m a year, but they remain bottom of the constructors’ standings with just 20 points – all courtesy of Pierre Gasly.