Bottas? Pérez? Which drivers could Cadillac sign ahead of 2026 F1 debut?

Cadillac's Formula 1 programme is astatine afloat velocity preparing for the outfit's debut play successful 2026, wherever it joins arsenic the grid's 11th team.

The individuality of its 2 drivers has yet to beryllium revealed. In fact, the squad has said naming its lineup is mode down the enactment of priorities arsenic it steams toward its archetypal race, the Australian Grand Prix connected March 8 adjacent year, which follows 10 days of preseason tests crossed Barcelona and Bahrain.

With F1's silly play usually exploding into beingness successful the European summer, the speculation astir who volition beryllium racing for F1's 11th squad is going to intensify successful the coming weeks. So who could beryllium taking the 2 contention seats for the Detroit marque?

What's the holdup?

Cadillac is successful a comparatively relaxed presumption erstwhile it comes to announcing its drivers. With the team's debut accelerated approaching, each attraction is focused connected the car. The individuality of those successful the cockpit tin wait.

As squad brag Graeme Lowdon precocious told the media during a circuit of the team's caller factory: "A bully comment, actually, from idiosyncratic walking astir erstwhile they saw each the worldly that was going on, it was, 'I tin spot wherefore the drivers isn't the fig 1 happening connected the list, arsenic it is astatine different teams, wherever they're dealing with a antithetic level of what's already successful place'. So, no, nothing's decided yet."

But there's bigger factors astatine play arsenic good than simply gathering a team.

Many of F1's big-name drivers are locked down for aggregate seasons successful their existent team. There's besides often small to beryllium gained by making aboriginal operator marketplace decisions. Say, for example, a seismic displacement occurred successful the adjacent fewer months and Max Verstappen did determine to permission Red Bull for Mercedes oregon Aston Martin -- unlikely, but inactive a lingering rumor successful the paddock -- past the ripple effect would beryllium huge. Alpine, who volition contention with Mercedes powerfulness successful 2026, besides appears acceptable to person what could beryllium a precise appealing spot available, with the squad unconvinced by some Jack Doohan and Franco Colapinto.

The frontrunners

As Lowdon went connected to say: "We cognize who's successful the market, we've got a bully thought of what we need, but we're inactive immoderate mode disconnected reaching that stage. I deliberation there's a precise beardown statement to accidental that a caller squad successful its archetypal twelvemonth of racing would payment hugely from radical who are experienced."

Two drivers with morganatic race-winning acquisition from wrong a championship-winning squad are available, and look to beryllium the astir evident and the astir desired candidates.

Sergio Pérez

Pérez has been connected the sidelines since being pushed retired astatine Red Bull astatine the extremity of past year. The nonaccomplishment of some Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda to bash immoderate amended successful that car this twelvemonth has helped determination beryllium a speedy revisionism connected however Pérez really fared, though his 2023 and 2024 seasons were incredibly difficult. It is simply a known information successful the paddock that being Verstappen's teammate mightiness the toughest occupation of them all, and Pérez's estimation has not been importantly damaged to regularisation him retired of an accidental here.

ESPN sources person said Cadillac instantly reached retired to Pérez erstwhile his Red Bull woody was chopped short. He has been successful nary unreserved to commit, capable to bask beingness distant from racing for the archetypal clip since helium was a child, but past nor has the American squad -- and it is understood Pérez remains apical of their list. A aggregate contention victor and hugely fashionable among the Latin American fanbase, helium would marque a batch of consciousness for Cadillac's maiden F1 season.

Valtteri Bottas

Valtteri Bottas got societal media buzzing with a caller station wherever helium approached a parked Cadillac and said, "Oh wow, that's really a bully seat." The cheeky, teasing station suggested a ultimate assurance successful what helium volition beryllium doing adjacent season, but it was vintage Bottas. The station was overwhelmingly good received, demonstrating conscionable however fashionable the erstwhile Mercedes operator remains among the F1 fanbase.

Clearly, Bottas is simply a beardown contender and ESPN understands talks person been going connected for a while. Like Pérez, his pedigree is obvious, with penetration of the interior workings of the dynasty Mercedes squad successful his backmost pocket. Unlike Pérez, Bottas was capable to bask a renaissance aft helium stopped being the teammate of a satellite champion, with 2 beardown seasons astatine Sauber. There's nary uncertainty the Cadillac involvement is strong. Bottas is simply a proven commodity and inactive has plentifulness near successful the vessel to springiness different team.

It's worthy noting that Cadillac mightiness person their enactment chopped retired if they privation some Pérez and Bottas to pb the line. Flavio Briatore is understood to person reached retired to some astir an Alpine seat. Previously Alpine has been a risky proposition, but it is switching to Mercedes powerfulness adjacent season, making it a precise charismatic proposition.

Other options

Zhou Guanyu

Perhaps a left-field option, but Zhou's sanction has circled for a while. China's archetypal ever F1 operator had 3 seasons arsenic Bottas' teammate astatine Suber but ne'er acceptable the satellite alight during that time. Paddock statement is he's a bully driver, with an evident upside: immense marketability successful Asia, which is thing incredibly invaluable to car manufacturers.

Since leaving Sauber, Zhou has go reserve and simulator operator for Ferrari, keeping him close successful the heavy of the paddock successful his absence. There's different bully crushed he's successful the frame: Cadillac squad brag Lowdon is his manager.

Yuki Tsunoda

It's hard to marque consciousness of what Tsunoda does next. His imagination determination to Red Bull has turned into thing of a nightmare since the Japanese Grand Prix arsenic he's fallen unfortunate to the aforesaid issues encountered by Pérez: the harsh measuring instrumentality of being Verstappen's teammate. Tsunoda's adjacent links to Honda -- who gave Red Bull an motor discount for the last twelvemonth of their concern successful speech for his promotion -- makes it improbable helium volition enactment astatine the erstwhile satellite champions beyond this season.

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Cadillac would look similar an charismatic proposition; an flight from the Red Bull programme and an accidental to get successful connected the crushed level with a squad acceptable to beryllium a afloat fledged shaper by the extremity of the decade. Sources person told ESPN that Tsunoda's cause spoke with Cadillac astatine the Monaco Grand Prix; informal discussions had already been underway earlier Tsunoda's daze promotion successful April, which concisely enactment things connected ice.

Are determination immoderate viable American oregon IndyCar candidates?

From the precise beginning, determination has been a wide tendency to person an American operator fronting this outfit. Even erstwhile Michael Andretti was trying to bargain Sauber a fewer years earlier the plans for an 11th squad got disconnected the ground, it was wide IndyCar operator Colton Herta was cardinal to his plans. While Andretti has been sidelined successful the Cadillac project, begetter Mario is connected the board, and the imagination script would beryllium to person a U.S. operator connected the roster.

Achieving this volition really beryllium difficult. Herta is nary certainty; helium needs to decorativeness 4th successful the title this twelvemonth -- oregon fifth, with 2 FP1 appearances -- earlier the extremity of the F1 play successful bid to person the ace licence points helium needs to beryllium eligible to vie adjacent year. Earlier this twelvemonth helium appeared to region himself from the thought of moving implicit to F1.

There's a left-field enactment person to location successful the F1 orbit. Jak Crawford, calved successful Charlotte, North Carolina, is racing successful Formula 2 this play and volition beryllium granted a ace licence if helium finishes 5th oregon higher successful the championship. An Aston Martin reserve drivers, Crawford mightiness contiguous a risky enactment arsenic a rookie, but 2025 has demonstrated however F1-ready galore young drivers successful the feeder bid are erstwhile they marque the measurement up. There's nary crushed to deliberation helium couldn't bash the same; he's shown flashes of existent committedness successful F2, wherever helium is 3rd successful the championship, with wins successful Monaco and Imola to his name.

What astir Ricciardo?

Daniel Ricciardo is possibly the elephant successful the country portion discussing Cadillac's options. The mega-popular Australian has not been backmost successful the Formula 1 paddock since helium was unceremoniously kicked to the curb by Red Bull aft past year's Singapore Grand Prix. Ricciardo would beryllium the champion operator disposable purely from a selling perspective, and if helium could rekindle the signifier of his archetypal stint with Red Bull past it could beryllium a imagination move.

There is small denotation that Ricciardo is hopeless to instrumentality to F1, though. Since leaving adjacent the extremity of past season, helium has grown a beard and appears to beryllium enjoying downtime connected his Perth workplace -- connected apical of launching a caller tailgate institution alongside his vino business, DR3, and his Enchanté covering range. He seems blessed to absorption connected those ventures for the foreseeable.

At a New York pop-up lawsuit for his covering enactment past year, a instrumentality filmed a selfie with Ricciardo and simply asked him, "Cadillac? Cadillac?" Ricciardo shook his caput and conscionable replied, "Nah, I'm done." That sentiment appears to beryllium legitimate. Sources adjacent to Ricciardo person told ESPN that helium has zero involvement successful returning to Formula 1 and whitethorn good beryllium done with centrifugal racing for good.