The 2026 Formula 1 World Championship will see the debut of Cadillac, becoming the eleventh team to join the grid. After a long wait, the American team has announced its first official drivers, who will return to competition after a break: Valtteri Bottas, currently a Mercedes test driver, and Sergio Perez, Max Verstappen’s teammate at Red Bull until 2024.
Until the official announcement of the Finnish and Mexican drivers, Cadillac seemed inclined to promote a young talent alongside a more experienced driver, or to make a ‘Made in USA’ choice by signing an American driver. Neither option ultimately materialized, to the disappointment of 1992 F1 runner-up Riccardo Patrese.
Patrese’s doubts
In a statement to Adventure Gamers, Patrese expressed that while he would have supported having an experienced driver, he would also have paired them with one of the rookies this season who is particularly impressive: “I don’t understand why Cadillac didn’t sign Isack Hadjar and pair him with an experienced driver for the future,” he said. “Next year, Helmut Marko will have Hadjar with Max (Verstappen). When he was racing in F3 and F2, I was keeping an eye on him and I could see he was slightly ahead of the other young drivers. Hadjar is definitely one of those young drivers to watch. He’s the best rookie. He had a very difficult start to the season in Australia, but he also showed strong character in how he bounced back.”
Speaking about young drivers, the six-time F1 race winner also acknowledged the talent of Oliver Bearman, currently driving for Haas: “He’s very talented. I know him because he raced against my son Lorenzo in F4. He had a fantastic debut with Ferrari when he was called up at the last minute. I believe he managed to finish eighth (7th, ed.).”
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