Cadillac F1 star set to serve penalty at FIRST race

One of Cadillac's new F1 drivers will serve a penalty when they return to the sport according to the FIA.

The FIA are F1's main decision makers on and off the racetrack, with a panel of stewards responsible for penalty decisions across a grand prix weekend.

Valtteri Bottas picked up a five-place grid penalty following a collision with Kevin Magnussen at the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and may have thought he'd gotten away with it...if he hadn't signed for Cadillac.

At the time, the Finn would not have been concerned about the FIA's verdict given that the season finale marked his final race in F1 for the foreseeable future.

Ahead of the 2025 season, Sauber opted to drop Bottas and team-mate Zhou Guanyu in favour of a brand new driver lineup in Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto.

Sauber will become Audi in 2026, and the brand felt a fresh driver duo would help the German automotive giants hit the ground running next season. However, it has now been announced that Bottas will also be making a return to the grid next year, meaning he in fact will have to serve his penalty.

READ MORE: Cadillac snub American drivers in official F1 lineup announcement

Will Bottas serve a penalty at the 2026 Australian Grand Prix?

Ahead of this weekend's Dutch GP, Cadillac confirmed F1's worst kept secret - Bottas and Perez are officially their first F1 driver duo.

As rumours continued to spiral ahead of the official announcement however, it became unclear whether Bottas would have to serve his outstanding FIA penalty should he return to F1.

In Abu Dhabi, the 36-year-old was awarded, "a drop of five grid positions for the next race in which the driver participates."

It all seemed pretty straightforward, however a revised section of the regulations raised confusion after it went on to read: "at the driver’s next Sprint or Race in which the driver participates in the subsequent twelve (12) month period."

Despite Bottas' year out as a Mercedes reserve driver, an FIA spokesperson has now confirmed: "Currently the penalty will stand, as there is no mechanism to retroactively amend the penalty that was applied under the regulations in force at the time."

"The change of regulation [for 2026] is intended to avoid similar anomalous situations in future."

As a result, Bottas' first race with Cadillac at the 2026 Australian GP will see him serve a five-place grid penalty.

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