Cadillac F1 promises to shake up the F1 2026 field by becoming Formula 1\u2019s 11th team \u2014 but there\u2019s still plenty we don\u2019t know about the team.<\/p>\n
Despite the fact that its driver line-up is still one big question mark, we\u00a0do have an idea of which drivers are on the team\u2019s \u201cshortlist.\u201d Today, we\u2019re ranking those options based on their likelihood of being signed.<\/p>\n
Cadillac F1: What it\u00a0doesn\u2019t want<\/p>\n
First and foremost, let\u2019s talk about Cadillac\u2019s vision.<\/p>\n
As a General Motors-backed team founded with funding from American financier Dan Towriss, it obviously has some high aspirations in appealing to the American market\u2026 but don\u2019t expect any American drivers.<\/p>\n
Back in the team\u2019s earliest stages, there were some hints that we might end up with an American, but Graeme Lowdon has since clarified his goals \u2014 he wants experienced, team-motivated drivers, ideally those who are familiar with Formula 1 and can help the team find its early footing.<\/p>\n
So, that\u2019s the primary metric against which we\u2019re evaluating the drivers on this shortlist today. And before we get started looking at the options, we should also pinpoint the drivers who have already been ruled out.<\/p>\n
First up is Daniel Ricciardo; Graeme Lowdon recently stated that a driver like Ricciardo, who seems to have really checked out of F1, wouldn\u2019t be the right fit for Cadillac. He rightfully pointed out that you want to sign a driver that\u2019s absolutely chomping at the bit to compete \u2014 and Ricciardo has seemed to be enjoying his retirement.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re also counting out drivers from American race series like IndyCar, such as Colton Herta and Pato O\u2019Ward. O\u2019Ward recently claimed that any links to Cadillac were just smoke and mirrors caused by media speculation, while Herta is very unlikely to secure a super license based on his IndyCar performance this year.<\/p>\n
Cadillac F1 shortlist: Jack Doohan<\/p>\n
Because we\u2019re ranking these drivers from least to most likely, we\u2019re starting with Jack Doohan<\/a>.<\/p>\n PlanetF1.com understands that Jack Doohan\u2019s father Mick Doohan and Cadillac team principal Graeme Lowdon were spotted chatting during both the Monaco and British Grands Prix, likely about a potential move.<\/p>\n Now, a handful of sightings between a driver\u2019s dad and a team boss do not guarantee that the driver in question is going to end up in an open seat, but it would absolutely make sense that the Doohans would try to snag a deal with Cadillac.<\/p>\n What makes this move so unlikely is the fact that Jack Doohan doesn\u2019t have a ton of Formula 1 experience. The 22-year-old has only made seven total starts with his Alpine team, with a best finish of 13th in the Chinese Grand Prix this season. But after retiring from the Miami Grand Prix, Doohan was dropped from the team and replaced by Argentinian racer Franco Colapinto.<\/p>\n Doohan is available, yes \u2014 but he\u2019s still effectively a rookie. If Cadillac is truly looking for experience, it\u2019s likely looking elsewhere.<\/p>\n More on Cadillac F1:<\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49\u00a0Cadillac F1: Everything you need to know about the new 11th team<\/a><\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49\u00a0Cadillac F1 signs first major sponsor with deep Formula 1 ties<\/a><\/p>\n Cadillac F1 shortlist: Mick Schumacher<\/p>\n Mick Schumacher, the 26-year-old son of Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher, spent just two years in Formula 1 making 43 starts for the Haas F1 team in 2021 and 2022. During that time, he only managed to score 12 points, with a sixth place in the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix representing his very best finish.<\/p>\n Schumacher and Haas seemed to part on pretty uncomfortable terms, and the German driver has since headed off to the FIA World Endurance championship to compete in the hypercar class with the Alpine Endurance Team. In the meantime, he\u2019s been test driver for Alpine, as well as reserve driver for Ferrari, Mercedes, and McLaren. And, as a bonus, he\u2019s competed for a Ferrari customer team, which means he has some experience in competing in F1 with a Ferrari engine.<\/p>\n But all that being said, Schumacher has been away from the F1 field for quite a few years now. He has more Grand Prix experience than someone like Doohan, but that experience is going to be pretty outdated when we head into 2026. Of course, everyone is going to be starting from scratch in a certain sense next year considering the dramatic regulation changes \u2014 but there are drivers with more recent and potentially more relevant experience that Cadillac could draw from.<\/p>\n Cadillac F1 shortlist: Zhou Guanyu<\/p>\n One of those drivers is Zhou Guanyu<\/a>. The Chinese driver competed for Alfa Romeo, which transitioned into the Sauber team, between the start of 2022 and the end of 2024. With 68 starts, he has more experience behind the wheel than Schumacher or Doohan, and that experience was admittedly pretty recent.<\/p>\n Zhou\u2019s performance did admittedly leave something to be desired \u2014 but in his defense, his team was working with some very challenging equipment. In three years in F1, his best performance were two eighth-place finishes \u2014 one at the 2022 Canadian Grand Prix, one at the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix. He snagged a total of 16 points in the course of three years.<\/p>\n But Zhou does have a lot working in his favor. First, Sauber was a Ferrari-engined customer team, so he understands how that works. He also has recent Formula 1 experience. Most critically, though, his longtime career manager has been none other than Graeme Lowdon, incoming Cadillac team principal.<\/p>\n That doesn\u2019t mean he\u2019s guaranteed a seat at Cadillac, of course, but it certainly does a lot to cut out the middle man when it comes time to negotiate!<\/p>\n Cadillac F1 shortlist: Valtteri Bottas<\/p>\n The next driver on Cadillac\u2019s shortlist is someone that Zhou Guanyu knows well: Former Sauber teammate Valtteri Bottas<\/a>.<\/p>\n Bottas is one of two extremely experienced drivers that Caddy is looking at. The 35-year-old Finnish driver has racked up 10 victories and 246 starts in Formula 1, competing for Williams, Mercedes, Alfa Romeo, and Sauber since he first joined the sport in 2013.<\/p>\n His consistency is nearly unmatched, he\u2019s seen how the efficient Mercedes team operated during its run of championships, and we can\u2019t underestimate his skills as a test and development driver.<\/p>\n As a bonus, he\u2019s also been taking to social media to tease a potential interest in Cadillac by stroking the interior of some Caddy road cars and praising them as having \u201ca nice seat.\u201d He may not have the massive, transcendent star power of someone like Lewis Hamilton, but within the motorsport world, Bottas is beloved. If Cadillac is looking for a driver who will represent its brand well, it could do a lot worse than Bottas.<\/p>\n Cadillac F1 shortlist: Sergio Perez<\/p>\n