Who will race for Cadillac in the 2026 Formula 1 season? Graeme Lowdon, the team principal of the new American outfit, has recently narrowed down the list of potential driver candidates.
As is widely known, Formula 1 will welcome a new team to the grid in 2026: Cadillac. However, the American team has yet to officially announce its race drivers. Over the past months, many names have been linked to the team, but none have been confirmed. Graeme Lowdon, the team principal of Cadillac’s 2026 F1 entry, spoke on the High Performance podcast, revealing a shorter shortlist of candidates and some surprising insights.
Motivation Will Be a Key Factor in Driver Selection
During the podcast episode, Graeme Lowdon confirmed ongoing talks with some drivers, including Mick Schumacher and Valtteri Bottas: “We are talking with Mick [Schumacher]. We’re also talking with Bottas; I know him very well. Both have proven a lot. Each of them still wants to prove something.” However, Lowdon emphasized that motivation will be a decisive factor for Cadillac’s final choice: “Our team is not there as a platform for someone to just try something out. Our team is there to provide a competitive race seat, if you like, for someone who wants to demonstrate what they can do, definitely. But it is not a means for showing the world or proving something for personal reasons. The goal is to give the maximum effort, that the drivers do their best for the team and should be motivated for the team around them. So, I am less inclined towards people who want to prove something personal.”
Lowdon also confirmed discussions with former Red Bull Racing driver Sergio Perez. Notably missing from the list of possible candidates is Daniel Ricciardo: “Actually, I believe he has said he’s not interested in Formula 1 anymore. It’s not my job to convince someone; in that case, that would be the wrong person. You wouldn’t need to convince an F1 driver to get into a race car.”
New Candidates Emerging
The list of potential drivers is far from finalized. Cadillac’s 2026 driver lineup could include rookies, as team principal Graeme Lowdon has not ruled out this possibility. “Yes, there are a few young drivers. When we say they have never driven, it means they have never raced in Formula 1. There are some good Formula 2 drivers: Felipe Drugovich, Fred Vesti. Lindblom is a good guy and is doing well at Red Bull,” Lowdon explained.
Although the decision on who will drive for Cadillac next year has not yet been made, Lowdon admitted that the candidate list has been narrowed down: “There are between six and ten good candidates.”
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