Juan Pablo Montoya names Cadillac's “ideal pair” for 2026 as key decision looms

F1 legend Juan Pablo Montoya has named Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas the “ideal pair” for Cadillac next year.

Cadillac will join the F1 grid in 2026 as the 11th team.

The American outfit haven’t yet announced their driver line-up, but Perez and Bottas have been heavily linked with Cadillac.

The duo aren’t currently on the grid after being dropped by Red Bull and Sauber, respectively.

Perez’s reputation has only been enhanced following Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda’s Red Bull struggles.

The Mexican also brings significant financial backing and will be a key asset for sponsors.

Bottas has remained active in F1 as Mercedes’ test and reserve driver.

The 10-time grand prix winner has insisted he’s motivated to remain in F1, and his final year at Sauber showed he’s still very quick.

Speaking to AS Colombia, Montoya explained that initially, Cadillac should opt for a Perez-Bottas line-up.

However, the former Williams driver thinks Cadillac should soon look for a younger driver.

“Yes, for me, I think that’s the pair,” Montoya said. “And the way I think they should do it is sign one for two years and the other for one year.

“Commit one for two or three years and then start looking for someone younger who can be more of a future for them.

“Because the two drivers they have would be very good, but they’re drivers that in two or three years will already be thinking about stopping.

“But for the beginning of the team, it would be the ideal pair.”

Perez will “fit them a little better”

Before joining Red Bull, Perez was known as F1’s ‘king of the midfield’.

Sergio Perez tended to secure big results in the midfield machinery, scoring several podiums at Force India.

Valtteri Bottas’ pre-Mercedes career was also impressive, leading Williams’ charge up the field.

Bottas’ Sauber career was patchy, starting off strong in 2022.

It wasn’t until his final season that he started dominating teammate Zhou Guanyu again, when both of their F1 careers were on the line.

“Of the two, Checo,” Montoya added. “I think Checo would fit them a little better with the profile and everything, but Bottas is also very fast.

“It depends on how motivated Valtteri is, because I think Valtteri is very fast and can be faster than Checo, but Valtteri is very emotional, it depends on the day.”