The Mexican was dropped by Red Bull at the end of last season despite having two further years on his contract after the team felt he had run out of time to prove he could provide the required support for Max Verstappen.

Dan Towriss, chief executive officer of GM’s partner TWG Motorsports, said Cadillac had considered signing a young and up-and-coming driver before confirming this line-up.

“Their experience, leadership and technical acumen are what we need,” Towriss said. “We’re humbled by their belief in us and this project.

“There is a young pool of drivers who are exciting and very talented so it was a tough decision. But it was the leadership of these two drivers that stood out.”

Bottas said: “The first talks we had was about two years ago. Early on it was clear to me that I wanted to be part of this great brand, this start-up team but with great structure and big goals.

“Of course, we are realistic, it is a mountain of work to do, and it is F1. But we are not here to stay at the back and with this structure and group of people there is no reason why we shouldn’t be able to get quickly to the pace.

“Checo and I still have quite a bit in the tank so we will enjoy it when we get there.”

Perez added: “I had a very difficult final year with Red Bull, it is a sport I love and I want to get back to enjoyment and this brings me the excitement back because I can put all my experience and try to help this team more forward.

“We want to move forward as quickly as possible. We know we don’t have time on our side. But we are bringing as much experience as possible, and we believe in the project that we can move quickly forwards.”