Bottas to Drive Historic Ferrari at Adelaide Festival Before 2026 F1 Return
Valtteri Bottas will get behind the wheel of a legendary 1985 Ferrari 156/85 at the upcoming Adelaide Motorsport Festival, giving fans a rare chance to see the historic F1 car in action.
This isn’t just any Ferrari. It’s the same model that Michele Alboreto used to battle Alain Prost for the 1985 world championship.
Alboreto pushed Prost all season long in that car, racking up a win at the Canadian Grand Prix alongside eight podiums.
He stayed in the title hunt until late in the season, scoring 69 points total before reliability problems with the turbo engine eventually ended his championship hopes.
Adelaide holds special significance in F1 history. The Australian city hosted the final showdown of that 1985 season and remained on the calendar until 1996, when Melbourne’s Albert Park Circuit took over as Australia’s F1 home.
The timing couldn’t be better for Bottas fans. The festival takes place just before the 2026 F1 season opener, where the Finnish driver will make his comeback with Cadillac after sitting out the 2025 campaign.
He’ll be in Adelaide from February 28 to March 1, fresh from pre-season testing, before heading to Melbourne for his first race with the American team.
The highlight comes on Sunday, March 1, when Bottas will put on a demonstration in Alboreto’s #27 Ferrari at 1:45pm.
That’s not all he’ll be driving, either. Earlier that same day, he’ll get behind the wheel of something completely different – a thundering V8 big-block Holden HQ Monaro.
## Cadillac Completes Driver Lineup with Familiar Face
Just days ago, Cadillac announced they’ve signed Zhou Guanyu as their reserve driver for 2026.
This reunites Bottas with his former teammate, as the Chinese driver partnered with him at Sauber for three straight seasons from 2022 through 2024.
Zhou will join Cadillac after spending 2025 as a reserve driver for Ferrari.
