Cadillac are narrowing down their shortlist of drivers who will spearhead the General Motors brand’s debut in F1 in 2026, with Mick Schumacher one option on their radar.
The American team are yet to sign a single driver ahead of their arrival on the grid next year. But Cadillac have held talks with a host of targets in recent months to gauge their interest in leading the team after Formula 1 accepted the General Motors brand’s application in March.
It is widely expected that Cadillac will sign at least one experienced driver to lead the team’s arrival in the paddock next year. Guenther Steiner believes Schumacher has a ‘good chance’ to drive for Cadillac, too, after team boss Graeme Lowdon confirmed talks with the German.
Photo by Kym Illman/Getty ImagesCadillac have told Mick Schumacher he will not race for them in 2026, and nor will Zhou Guanyu
But while Steiner backed Schumacher to sign for Cadillac, Auto Action now reports that the GM crew have ‘already’ informed the 26-year-old that he will not be driving for them in the 2026 F1 season. Cadillac are also due to tell Zhou Guanyu that they will not be signing him.
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Auto Action’s ‘sources’ close to Cadillac believe the GM board and American fans would find it too difficult to accept a Chinese driver racing for them to sign Zhou amid the poor state of relations between the USA and China. So, Cadillac are due to close the door on Zhou joining.
F1 Oversteer exclusively reported that paddock figures believed Zhou was almost certain to drive for Cadillac, in part owing to the General Motors brand’s team boss Lowdon also being the 26-year-old’s agent. Zhou has even spent this term as one of Ferrari’s F1 reserve drivers.
His ties to the Scuderia might have been hugely beneficial for Cadillac ahead of their debut, given the team will buy Ferrari’s engine through at least the 2028 F1 season. Cadillac intend to become a fully-fledged factory team with a works power unit, but not until at least 2029.
Ferrari F1 reserve driver Zhou Guanyu has been a leading target for Cadillac for months
Zhou has been a leading target for Cadillac for months, but the General Motors crew pulling a U-turn will likely now leave the 26-year-old off the grid once again. The Chinese ace joined Ferrari as a reserve driver for 2025 after Audi opted against renewing his contract at Sauber.
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The Shanghai native raced for Sauber for three years, including two while the team operated as Alfa Romeo. Zhou debuted for the Swiss squad, who will become Audi’s factory team next year, during the 2022 season and started all 68 of his Grand Prix entries for 16 career points.
Sauber also saw Zhou get all four of their points in the 2024 season with P8 in the Qatar GP. It equalled Zhou’s career-best F1 result of P8 in the 2022 Canadian GP. His best qualifying was P5 at the 2023 Hungarian GP, after which Lewis Hamilton called Zhou ‘really great’, too.
Zhou’s time in Maranello has also seen him drive Ferrari’s 2023 car in Testing of Previous Car (TPC) sessions and a mule version of their 2025 car in a Pirelli 2026 wet tyre test. His role at Ferrari has also seen Zhou help develop the SF-25 in their simulator since joining this year.