Cadillac F1 boss confirms ‘phone been busy’ in F1 2026 driver plan update

After the team was announced as a provisional entrant for F1 2026 – the year when new chassis and engine regulations will sweep into Formula 1 – Cadillac F1 is now officially the 11th team on the grid which will expand for that new era.

That means Cadillac F1 needs a pair of drivers for its debut season, and team boss Lowdon was asked what profile of driver they will target.

“We definitely select on merit,” he told the media including PlanetF1.com. “Formula 1 is not a playground, this is the pinnacle of world motor sports. So for sure, we need to select drivers on merit.

“Luckily for us, there are a lot of good drivers out there.

“Unfortunately, we’ve not been able to be in the driver market until the entry is confirmed. So it’s a little bit too early to go too much into into any detail, because it’s only now that we’re able to have meaningful conversations.

“But for sure, we want to have drivers that can contribute to the overall program.”

Lowdon was asked if such drivers could be Valtteri Bottas – a 10-time grand prix winner who starts F1 2025 as Mercedes reserve after losing his Sauber seat, or Sergio Perez, who departed Red Bull after F1 2024.

IndyCar racer Colton Herta was another name brought up to Lowdon, who was asked if Cadillac F1 would be interested in talking to that trio.

“Yeah, I think it’s important for us to talk to a number of potential candidates,” he replied.

“Do we see experienced, capable drivers, very talented drivers, who currently aren’t on the grid? Yes, we do.

“So we are going to be quite busy talking to a few people. My phone has certainly been busy, that’s for sure.

“What’s a little bit difficult because of the situation that we’re in as a new team, the timeline isn’t as laid out as it normally is, you know, it’s normally quite clear for all of us involved in the driver negotiations. We’re out of sync with those discussions purely because of history.

“But as I said before, there are easily half a dozen, if not more, candidates out there who offer extremely good credentials to be in Formula 1 or to be in Formula 1 again.”

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Up to this point, the blueprint from Cadillac F1 has been to ideally pair an experienced F1 driver with an American star.

But, with Lowdon stressing that any driver in their line-up must be there on merit, is there an American driver available to them who is up to the task?

Alongside Herta, current Formula 2 star and Aston Martin reserve Jak Crawford could also be seen as a potential candidate.

“The obvious question is, whether we’ll have American drivers,” said Lowdon, “and personally, I see no reason why an American driver can’t be selected on merit as well.

“So it’s certainly something that I think that the fans would like to see. And I see no reason why that can’t happen.

“But the overriding objective, is merit. We’ve got a job to do here.”