Cadillac has not yet officially announced its driver line-up for its upcoming debut in the Formula 1 World Championship. However, on the desk of Team Principal Graeme Lowdon, there are reportedly at least ten potential candidates under consideration.
There have been numerous phone calls, emerging names, and a veil of secrecy surrounding Graeme Lowdon, the team principal of the future Cadillac Formula 1 team. The American racing outfit, which is set to enter the Formula 1 grid in the 2026 season with a power unit supplied by Ferrari, has not yet confirmed the identities of the two drivers who will represent the team in its inaugural campaign. With the summer break now underway, many insiders and observers within the Formula 1 paddock are expecting official news to break at any moment. Nevertheless, the American team is taking its time, even though it has confirmed that initial testing sessions are scheduled to take place during the summer hiatus.
Over the past months, various drivers have been linked to Cadillac, including experienced Formula 1 names such as Sergio Perez, Valtteri Bottas, Zhou Guanyu, and Daniel Ricciardo. Initially, the most favored driver pairing was considered to be the duo formed by Mexican driver Sergio Perez—who previously raced for Red Bull Racing—and Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu, who currently serves as the third and reserve driver for Scuderia Ferrari. Both profiles align well with what the American team is believed to be seeking: strong marketing potential combined with solid on-track experience.
However, while Daniel Ricciardo has publicly denied having any intention to return to the Formula 1 grid for a full-time drive, Valtteri Bottas has repeatedly teased fans and motorsport journalists through posts on his social media channels. The Finnish driver appears determined to return to competitive action and is reportedly in contact with several teams, including Graeme Lowdon’s Cadillac project.
Many candidates in contention, but Cadillac’s priorities go beyond the driver line-up
Speaking on the High Performance podcast, Cadillac Team Principal Graeme Lowdon offered some insight into the current driver selection process. “When our entry into Formula 1 was announced, my phone was flooded with calls from driver representatives,” Lowdon revealed. “It’s not easy to define a line-up—and that’s not even the whole picture. We also need reserve drivers, drivers for the simulator. We haven’t made any final decisions yet. I’d say we probably have between six and ten solid candidates under evaluation.”
Lowdon emphasized that, for the most part, these are drivers who are currently not active on the Formula 1 grid. Those whose contracts are expiring—such as British driver George Russell, for instance—are still expected to reach new agreements with their current teams or find suitable alternatives in the weeks to come.
“Even though I received many calls, my answer was the same to all of them: we have to begin from the fundamentals. First, we need to build the cars. But before that, we need to manufacture the parts. And before that, we must design those parts and hire the personnel who will engineer them. Our focus right now is ensuring we have a competitive car and a high-performance team. Formula 1 is, after all, the biggest team sport in the world,” Lowdon added.
First on-track test already scheduled at Silverstone
Graeme Lowdon also confirmed that the team has already planned its first on-track test. “There will be a time when we start discussing drivers more seriously, and I think that time is now,” he admitted. “I have met with several drivers in recent weeks, and during those meetings, I’ve advised them to ignore what they read in the media. We haven’t signed anyone yet, and they shouldn’t feel frustrated. Every conversation teaches us something, and from now on, we will begin to engage in more detailed discussions.”
“We will begin testing something after the summer break. We have a garage full of mechanics who need to be capable of performing pit stops as efficiently as the mechanics in other teams. We also have engineers who need to become familiar with how the systems will work. We will take everything to the track—most likely to the Silverstone Circuit, as it is nearby—and we will run some cars with several drivers. These drivers will not necessarily be those who will race officially for us in 2026,” concluded Lowdon.
With Cadillac steadily laying the foundations for its entry into the world of Formula 1, the upcoming months promise to be decisive in shaping the identity of the team. From infrastructure and staffing to testing and, ultimately, driver selection, the pieces are slowly but surely falling into place for a highly anticipated debut on the Formula 1 grid.
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