We’re taking a look at the list of possible Cadillac F1 drivers as Formula One’s newest team prepares for its debut on the grid in 2026.
It has been widely reported that Cadillac are set to hand a race seat to one or both of Sergio Perez or Valtteri Bottas.
The American outfit, owned by General Motors, will become the 11th team on the grid next year.
The team’s driver lineup is not yet known, though.
It is expected that team principal Graeme Lowdon will have a big say in who is signed.
But GM and TWG Motorsports, which share ownership of the team, will make the ultimate decision.
Speaking to The Race in June, Lowdon said: “It means we can spend a bit more time understanding the attributes that a particular driver can bring and measuring them against what we need.
“Normally, you’re in a competitive environment, sometimes you can’t take long to make a decision, because someone will go to another team.
“When we’re not in that position, there’s a good list of very, very capable drivers that we can interact with and put a team together with. So we’re lucky from that one point of view.”
The team’s need for experienced drivers may work in Bottas’ and Perez’s favour.
But there are other drivers known to have spoken to Cadillac, and we’ve also taken a look at them below.
Cadillac F1 Drivers Not Yet Decided
Last weekend’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone saw a big presence from Cadillac.
There were reportedly several discussions held with drivers during and after the race weekend.
No contracts are thought to have been signed, though.
But it is believed that conversations are advancing, with decisions possibly set to be made in the coming weeks.
TWG’s Indycar team Andretti has a double-header in Iowa this weekend.
After that, the wider Cadillac ownership group will have chance to meet and finalise their driver targets.
Who Will Drive For Cadillac In 2026?
Sergio Perez
The most experienced and successful options available to Cadillac are of course Perez and Bottas.
Sergio ‘Checo’ Perez lost his seat at Red Bull at the end of last year.
Perez is known to have held face-to-face talks with Cadillac.
And Lowdon recently said: “There’s a very strong argument to say that a new team in its first year of racing would benefit hugely from people who are experienced.”
There are few who would argue that 35-year-old Perez fits that description perfectly.
Valtteri Bottas
Like Perez, Valtteri Bottas lost his seat ahead of this season.
The former Sauber driver has returned to Mercedes as a reserve driver in 2025.
But the Finn has made clear his desire to get back to racing as soon as possible.
Bottas has also held talks with Cadillac, though has kept quiet about the progress of discussions.
The Mercedes reserve driver was linked with a shock move to Alpine in recent weeks.
But all current information suggests that Bottas is more keen on a long-term race seat with Cadillac.
Yuki Tsunoda
There remains the possibility of Cadillac signing both Bottas and Perez for 2026.
But if they would prefer to pair one veteran with a younger driver, Yuki Tsunoda might be a master-stroke.
The Japanese driver has made more than 100 Grand Prix starts.
But at 25, Tsunoda is still a relatively young driver, with bags of potential.
He has had a nightmare of it lately since being promoted to the senior Red Bull team earlier this season.
Although he is thought to have the team’s full support, Red Bull are notorious for brutally axing drivers they had claimed to back.
For this reason, Tsunoda’s availability may well change quickly before next season.
Zhou Guanyu
Last year’s Sauber teammate to Valtteri Bottas, Zhou Guanyu is another available driver with F1 experience.
The 26-year-old Chinese driver is currently a reserve driver for Ferrari.
But with Cadillac team principal Lowdon previously working as part of Zhou’s management, there is a familiarity between the pair.
However, there may be an issue with a US-based team hiring a Chinese driver, due to the current geopolitical tension between the two nations.
Jack Doohan
Former Alpine driver Jack Doohan was replaced by Franco Colapinto after just six races as a rookie.
The Aussie has been demoted to reserve driver in the races since.
But he has been linked with a move to Cadillac, and is definitely on the team’s radar.
And it certainly doesn’t look like Alpine are keen to put him back in the car for 2026.
Felipe Drugovich
A more unlikely, but still possibly option, is Aston Martin reserve driver Felipe Drugovich.
The Brazilian was Formula 2 world champion in 2022.
He is also familiar with the Cadillac setup, racing for the Cadillac Hypercar team at both Daytona and Le Mans.
There appears to be no chance of him getting a race seat at Aston Martin, meaning Cadillac could be his route onto the F1 Grid.
Paul Aron
And last on out list of possible Cadillac F1 drivers is Paul Aron.
Another Alpine reserve driver, Aron has held talks with Cadillac about a potential drive in 2026.
But, like Drugovich, he would be a complete rookie, and seems to be closer to getting a shot at Alpine than Doohan.
