Mexican was abandoned by Red Bull at the end of last season, despite two more years on its contract, when the team felt that he had gone out of time to prove that he could provide the necessary support for Max Vastapane.
GM’s partner TWG Global CEO Dan Toris said that Cadilac had considering signing a young and up-and-up driver before confirming the line-up.
“His experience, leadership and technical skills we need,” said Toris. “We are oppressed by him and his belief in this project.
“There is a young pool of drivers who are exiting and are very talented so it was a difficult decision. But it was the leadership of these two drivers who stood outside.”
Botas said: “The first conversation we had was about two years ago. It was soon clear for 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 to stay behind and there is no reason with the group of people with this structure and group of people that we should not be able to reach speed quickly.
“Checko and I still have a lot in the tank, so we will enjoy it when we reach there.”
Perez said: “I had a very difficult final year with Red Bull, this is a game I love and I want to go back to Anand and it brings me back because I can have all my experience and try to help this team move further.
“We want to move forward as soon as possible. We know that we don’t have time. But we are bringing more experiences, and we believe in that project that we can move forward quickly.”
