{"id":169289,"date":"2025-09-26T01:08:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-26T01:08:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/169289\/"},"modified":"2025-09-26T01:08:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-26T01:08:10","slug":"cadillac-now-look-set-to-sign-rival-f1-teams-incredible-talent-to-be-sergio-perezs-2026-reserve","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/169289\/","title":{"rendered":"Cadillac now look set to sign rival F1 team\u2019s \u2018incredible\u2019 talent to be Sergio Perez\u2019s 2026 reserve"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Cadillac now look set to complete their 2026 F1 driver roster following the signings of Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas, along with naming Colton Herta as an F1 test driver.<\/p>\n<p>The General Motors brand will debut in the pinnacle of motorsport next year with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.f1oversteer.com\/tag\/sergio-perez\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Perez<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.f1oversteer.com\/tag\/valtteri-bottas\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Bottas<\/a> behind the wheel of the first <a href=\"https:\/\/www.f1oversteer.com\/tag\/cadillac\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Cadillac<\/a> F1 cars. But team principal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.f1oversteer.com\/tag\/graeme-lowdon\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Graeme Lowdon<\/a> still must source a reserve driver, as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.f1oversteer.com\/tag\/colton-herta\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Herta<\/a> is not currently eligible to step in for an F1 Grand Prix.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.f1oversteer.com\/news\/martin-brundle-sends-valtteri-bottas-and-sergio-perez-an-instant-warning-after-signing-for-cadillac\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Cadillac have signed Perez and Bottas<\/a> respectively on two-year contracts to spearhead their arrival in the 2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.f1oversteer.com\/formula-1-calendar\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">F1 season<\/a>. Lowdon and the Cadillac leadership favoured experience over youth for their debut <a href=\"https:\/\/www.f1oversteer.com\/teams\/f1-2026-grid-all-confirmed-driver-line-ups-and-rumours\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">F1 driver line-up for 2026<\/a>, thus secured two of the most experienced.<\/p>\n<p>Herta does not have enough points to qualify for the FIA superlicence required to race in F1. So, the 25-year-old Californian is set to race in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.f1oversteer.com\/tag\/formula-2\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Formula 2<\/a> in 2026 to try to build his tally after leaving his Andretti IndyCar seat. Herta is also likely to appear in F1 FP1 sessions for Cadillac.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"666\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/GettyImages-2225126591-1024x666.jpg\" alt=\"Andretti driver Colton Herta celebrates scoring pole position for the 2025 IndyCar Grand Prix of Toronto\" \/>Steve Russell\/Toronto Star via Getty ImagesCadillac look set to sign Aston Martin junior Jak Crawford as their 2026 F1 reserve driver<\/p>\n<p>Cadillac\u2019s need for an F1 reserve driver has seen Lowdon turn his attention to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.f1oversteer.com\/tag\/aston-martin\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Aston Martin<\/a> junior <a href=\"https:\/\/www.f1oversteer.com\/tag\/jak-crawford\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Jak Crawford<\/a>. According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.motorsport.com\/formula-e\/news\/why-drugovich-is-making-a-formula-e-move-with-andretti\/10762081\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Motorsport.com<\/a>, the GM outfit look set to sign the North Carolina native to understudy for Bottas and Perez, with Herta unable to race in Formula 1.<\/p>\n<p>READ MORE: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.f1oversteer.com\/teams\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-general-motors-cadillac-f1-team\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">All to know about General Motors\u2019 Cadillac F1 team from engine to drivers<\/a><\/p>\n<p>TEAMDRIVER 1DRIVER 2AlpinePierre GaslyN\/AAston MartinFernando AlonsoLance StrollAudiGabriel BortoletoNico HulkenbergCadillacValtteri BottasSergio PerezFerrariCharles LeclercLewis HamiltonHaasEsteban OconOliver BearmanMcLarenLando NorrisOscar PiastriMercedesN\/AN\/ARacing BullsN\/AN\/ARed Bull RacingMax VerstappenN\/AWilliamsAlex AlbonCarlos Sainz2026 confirmed F1 drivers<\/p>\n<p>Crawford currently holds a development driver role at Aston Martin, as the American joined their academy programme in February 2024. He was also a reserve driver with the Andretti Formula E team during the 2024\/25 season, and he tested in their Gen3 and Gen3Evo cars.<\/p>\n<p>Andretti decided not to sign Crawford for a 2025\/26 Formula E race seat, though, as Aston Martin F1 reserve Felipe Drugovich signed a multi-year contract. Instead, TWG Motorsports (which oversees Andretti FE and Cadillac F1) will name Crawford to be Cadillac\u2019s F1 reserve.<\/p>\n<p>Cadillac rejected Jak Crawford to sign Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas as their race drivers<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/GettyImages-2236527952-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Aston Martin junior Jak Crawford celebrates winning the 2025 Formula 2 Baku Feature Race for DAMS\" \/>Photo by James Sutton \u2013 Formula 1\/Formula Motorsport Limited via Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>Crawford is on course to earn enough points to qualify for a superlicence, as the 20-year-old only needs to finish the 2025 F2 season in the top five of the standings as he already has 31. The top three in the F2 standings receive all 40 of the points needed for an FIA superlicence.<\/p>\n<p>READ MORE:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.f1oversteer.com\/news\/everything-we-know-about-f1-2026-engine-technical-regulation-changes\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Everything you need to know about F1\u2019s 2026 engine and aero regulations<\/a><\/p>\n<p>TEAMENGINERed BullRed Bull Powertrains (in partnership with Ford)FerrariFerrariMcLarenMercedesMercedesMercedesAston MartinHondaRacing BullsRed Bull Powertrains (in partnership with Ford)HaasFerrariWilliamsMercedesAlpineMercedesAudiAudiCadillacFerrariF1 engine suppliers for the 2026 season<\/p>\n<p>DAMS driver Crawford currently sits second in the 2025 Formula 2 standings with rounds in Qatar and Abu Dhabi remaining. The Charlotte-born charger trails Invicta Racing\u2019s Leonardo Fornaroli by 19 points, having cut his deficit with his third Feature Race win of 2025 in Baku.<\/p>\n<p>Crawford has taken Feature Race wins in Monaco, Silverstone and Baku this year, along with a Sprint Race win at Imola, amid his third year in Formula 2. But while his potential may now be enough to secure a Cadillac F1 reserve driver role, it was not enough to merit a race seat.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.f1oversteer.com\/news\/cadillac-held-talks-with-one-of-americas-top-talents-but-were-worried-hed-be-another-logan-sargeant\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Cadillac overlooked Crawford to sign Bottas and Perez<\/a>, as the GM brand feared he would be another Logan Sargeant by putting an inexperienced driver in a difficult car next year. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.f1oversteer.com\/news\/flavio-briatore-has-just-added-an-incredible-driver-to-alpines-list-of-potential-franco-colapinto-replacements\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Alpine have shown an interest in Crawford<\/a>, who DAMS owner Charles Pic calls <a href=\"https:\/\/damslucasoil.com\/2025\/07\/08\/dams-lucas-oil-takes-superb-f2-feature-race-win-at-silverstone-with-jak-crawford\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">\u201cincredible\u201d<\/a>, as well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cadillac now look set to complete their 2026 F1 driver roster following the signings of Sergio Perez and&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":169290,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[2495,64,63,3550,817,813,1627,45066,816,30512,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-169289","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-formula-1","8":"tag-aston-martin","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-cadillac","12":"tag-f1","13":"tag-formula-1","14":"tag-formula-1-driver-market","15":"tag-formula-2","16":"tag-formula1","17":"tag-jak-crawford","18":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169289","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169289"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169289\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/169290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169289"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169289"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}