Hilarious outtakes of Bottas F1 return announcement revealed

Hilarious behind-the-scenes footage of Valtteri Bottas' official F1 return announcement have surfaced on social media.

Following months of speculation, the Finn was this week finally confirmed as one half of Cadillac's driver lineup next season.

He will line up on the grid alongside fellow veteran Sergio Perez, as the two racers prepare to lead the 2026 debutants into an exciting new era.

While the official team announcement was slick in its presentation, there were a few eyebrows raised over the way Bottas opted to reveal the news, after he posted a picture of himself on a surfboard carrying an American flag in homage to his new employers.

Many fans were quick to call out the image as AI-generated, but while the final version appeared to have been polished up, it has been revealed that Bottas actually did attempt to pull off the real thing, albeit with a few errors.

A story published on photographer Paul Ripke's Instagram page showed the 35-year-old trying - and failing - to stay on a board, resulting in him crashing into the water with flag in hand.

Perez teams up with Bottas at Cadillac

Bottas has spent this season operating as Mercedes' reserve driver following his sacking from Sauber at the end of 2024.

While he previously refused to admit talks had been taking place with Cadillac, he has published a number of cryptic posts online suggesting that there was something in the works.

Both Bottas and Perez have more than 500 race starts between them in F1, and the team will hope their experience will prove invaluable as they look to make an immediate impact.

Perez has also been consistently linked with a spot at the US outfit since being ditched by Red Bull, and stated back in April that he had been approached by a number of teams looking to secure his signature.

Cadillac won't be the only new-look team in 2026, with Audi also making their first foray in to the sport having completed the takeover of Sauber.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by FORMULA 1® (@f1)

F1 HEADLINES: Christian Horner tipped for surprise move as Cadillac confirm 2026 driver lineup

READ MORE: Cadillac confirm driver lineup as axed F1 stars return

READ MORE: F1 drivers height: How tall are Hamilton, Verstappen and Tsunoda

NEWSLETTER: F1's summer break shopping list - Part 1

Related