{"id":4107,"date":"2025-07-18T21:04:08","date_gmt":"2025-07-18T21:04:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/4107\/"},"modified":"2025-07-18T21:04:08","modified_gmt":"2025-07-18T21:04:08","slug":"f1-likely-as-alonso-hanging-out-with-taylor-swift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/4107\/","title":{"rendered":"F1 likely as \u2018Alonso hanging out with Taylor Swift’"},"content":{"rendered":"

The shortlist of prospective drivers linked to the incoming Cadillac F1 team is anything but short \u2014 but there\u2019s one driver who knows he\u2019s not in contention.<\/p>\n

Arrow McLaren IndyCar driver Pato O\u2019Ward was briefly linked to the Cadillac team \u2014 but according to him, joining Cadillac is as likely as Taylor Swift actually dating Fernando Alonso!<\/p>\n

Pato O\u2019Ward offers colourful Cadillac F1 denial<\/p>\n

Last weekend, IndyCar\u2019s Pato O\u2019Ward snatched the checkered flag first at Iowa Speedway in what represented his 100th start in the series \u2014 but is there a future for the Mexican driver in Formula 1? O\u2019Ward says \u2018no.\u2019<\/p>\n

The F1 2026 season will see the introduction of Cadillac F1, an American team helmed by Andretti Global backer Dan Towriss and former Manor Marussia team head Graeme Lowdon. While the pieces of the team have begun to come together, its driver line-up remains a much-speculated mystery, and for a brief period of time, Arrow McLaren\u2019s Mexican driver was posed as a potential candidate.<\/p>\n

But speaking to ESPN in a Spanish-language interview, O\u2019Ward admitted that he never felt he had a chance with Cadillac.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was pure smoke, pure social media,\u201d he said, laughing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe rumours about me going to Cadillac were like the rumours about Fernando Alonso hanging out with Taylor Swift!\u201d<\/p>\n

O\u2019Ward is referring to early 2024 speculation that pop megastar Taylor Swift had begun seeing Formula 1 driver Fernando Alonso after both parties had separated from their respective partners. Alonso himself teasingly played into the rumours, which proved to be nothing more than idle speculation.<\/p>\n

Indeed, Cadillac F1 advisor Mario Andretti stated that he thought O\u2019Ward could be a good fit for the team, but there does not seem to be any substance behind what amounted to Andretti\u2019s speculation.<\/p>\n

More from Pato O\u2019Ward:<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc49\u00a0\u2018They made me feel like a pop star\u2019 \u2013 Pato O\u2019Ward\u2019s \u2018intense\u2019 Formula 1 homecoming<\/a><\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc49\u00a0Loud engines, South American races: How Pato O\u2019Ward believes IndyCar can challenge Formula 1<\/a><\/p>\n

In many ways, O\u2019Ward\u2019s name ended up linked to Cadillac thanks to the team\u2019s early statements that it intended to sign a qualified American driver, should one present himself. Of course, O\u2019Ward hails from Mexico, but the fan-favourite IndyCar driver has a massive fanbase in North America that could have served to bridge the gap between Cadillac\u2019s goals and its reality.<\/p>\n

However, there\u2019s a different fan-favourite racer from Mexico strongly linked to the Cadillac F1 seat: Sergio Perez.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Ward said in the ESPN interview, \u201cI know he would do it, because I think his exit from Formula 1 wasn\u2019t what he wanted<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether or not he chooses to return, he will be an idol. I don\u2019t think much changes there.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked if he felt Perez would return to Formula 1, O\u2019Ward said, \u201cYes, because I already saw him training. He wouldn\u2019t be training if he wasn\u2019t going to come back.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 35-year-old driver from Guadalajara has a long history in Formula 1 dating back to 2011. Having contested for outfits like Sauber, McLaren, Force India, and Red Bull, Perez has the veteran experience that Cadillac has increasingly come to claim is its goal for 2026, with his recent experience at a dominant Red Bull likely being of particular interest to Cadillac.<\/p>\n

Further, Perez brings with him ample sponsorship from Mexican businessman Carlos Slim as well as an extremely dedicated fanbase that would combine to kick Cadillac off on the right foot.<\/p>\n

Valtteri Bottas, former Mercedes and Sauber driver, has also been linked to the Cadillac operation; he and Perez remain two of the most likely signings on the American team\u2019s \u201cquite long\u201d list of prospects.<\/p>\n

Others linked to the seat include Zhou Guanyu, Mick Schumacher, and Jack Doohan.<\/p>\n

With China serving as Cadillac\u2019s strongest market for consumer automobile sales and his previous experience driving a Ferrari-engined customer F1 machine, Zhou could be a strong choice for the team. Further, his manager is none other than Graeme Lowdon, the man who will serve as Cadillac\u2019s team principal upon its F1 entry.<\/p>\n

Mick Schumacher and Jack Doohan have both emerged as potential Cadillac F1 candidates in recent days as well.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s still plenty up in the air, but for Pato O\u2019Ward, the Cadillac dream is firmly at an end.<\/p>\n

Read next:\u00a0Sergio Perez set to be confirmed at Cadillac, reports claim<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The shortlist of prospective drivers linked to the incoming Cadillac F1 team is anything but short \u2014 but…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4108,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[64,63,3550,817,813,816,818,5856,44,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-4107","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-formula-1","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-cadillac","11":"tag-f1","12":"tag-formula-1","13":"tag-formula1","14":"tag-home-page","15":"tag-indycar","16":"tag-news","17":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4107","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=4107"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4107\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}