Former Haas Components 1 staff principal Guenther Steiner has questioned Valtteri Bottas’s motivation and future at Cadillac, suggesting the Finnish driver has “given up somewhat bit” amid a difficult 2026 marketing campaign for the American outfit.
Talking on The Pink Flags Podcast through the summer season break, Steiner graded the 2026 grid and supplied a blunt evaluation of Cadillac’s present driver pairing.
Cadillac joined the F1 grid in 2026 with the skilled driver line-up of former Mercedes driver Bottas and former Pink Bull driver Sergio Perez.
The pair discover themselves on the backside of the drivers’ standings, with neither having scored a single championship level within the opening 11 races of the season.
However regardless of their equal factors tally, Perez has outperformed his team-mate over a single lap. The Mexican driver at the moment boasts a 9-6 general qualifying benefit over Bottas, together with grand prix and dash qualifying.
Steiner awarded Perez a C grade for his 2026 efficiency thus far, praising his relentless effort in uncompetitive and infrequently unreliable equipment. “He is doing higher than his team-mate,” Steiner stated.
“It is a C, and he is placing an effort in, but when the automotive would not break, it’s gradual. What can he do about it? You choose them on the hassle they put in as a result of it’s so straightforward to get annoyed that you just’re not doing something anymore.”
Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac Racing
Photograph by: Andy Hone/ LAT Pictures through Getty Pictures
He added: “Truthful play to Checo, and Valtteri somewhat bit, they carry on pushing with no matter they have, and that is not straightforward to do.”
In distinction, Steiner relegated Bottas to a D grade, arguing that the 10-time grand prix winner lacked motivation.
“I believe we now have to place him in a D. Perez is simply higher than him for the time being,” Steiner famous. “What Perez tries to do, I believe Valtteri has given up somewhat bit, it seems to be like.”
When questioned whether or not Cadillac ought to look to exchange Bottas, Steiner said that the staff’s main focus have to be on growing the automotive. However he admitted that if administration determined a driver change was crucial, the 36-year-old could be the plain one to exchange.
“If they should change one driver, clearly I believe they’ll change Valtteri,” Steiner concluded.
“His outcomes aren’t nearly as good. I believe Valtteri anticipated one thing completely different, however not this. Now it is like, ‘Hell yeah, I am driving a Components 1 automotive, however I had a great job at Mercedes being the reserve driver. I used to be final because the reserve driver as a result of I did not take part, and now I must make all this effort to be final’.”
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