Two months before the team make their debut on the grid at the Australian Grand Prix, another name has been announced as part of Cadillac\u2019s driver line-up for 2026, with Zhou Guanyu joining the American outfit as their reserve driver.<\/p>\n
Following the signings of Valtteri Bottas<\/a> and Sergio Perez<\/a> as race drivers last summer, the squad have continued to add to their wider roster, having recruited former IndyCar racer Colton Herta as test driver<\/a> while their line-up of developments drivers includes previous Haas reserve Pietro Fittipaldi<\/a>.<\/p>\n Zhou<\/a> has now joined the group off the back of a season spent acting as a reserve driver for Ferrari<\/a>, which followed on from his three-year spell on the grid with the Alfa Romeo\/Kick Sauber outfit.<\/p>\n Cadillac<\/a> made no secret of wanting experienced names on board when it came to signing the race drivers for their first-ever campaign in Formula 1, and Team Principal Graeme Lowdon admits that this was also a key draw of signing Zhou.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ll see from the race driver selection that, as a new team, we’ve put a lot of emphasis on experience and driver experience, and clearly Zhou is very, very experienced,\u201d Lowdon tells F1.com<\/a> following the announcement.<\/p>\n \u201cHe’s had three years of racing in Formula 1, and so, unlike some of the other candidates \u2013 who may well have very good credentials in the junior formula and are looking perhaps to get a foothold into Formula 1 \u2013 the key thing for us, throughout the entire driver line-up, is to work with very, very experienced people who can contribute to the overall programme.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it’s very easy to underestimate just what is needed to bring a new team into Formula 1; as you know, Formula 1 is unbelievably competitive.<\/p>\n “It’s highly complex, it’s such a big step from any other formula, and so having drivers throughout the whole driver programme who just know exactly what they’re doing \u2013 and none of this is new to any of them, apart from the fact it’s a brand-new team \u2013 is really, really important. That played a big factor in the selection of Zhou.\u201d<\/p>\n Why Zhou\u2019s signing \u2018made a lot of sense\u2019<\/p>\n Zhou\u2019s recent experience of working with Ferrari \u2013 who will supply Cadillac\u2019s power unit and gearbox in 2026 \u2013 also went in the Chinese driver\u2019s favour during the process of selecting a reserve.<\/p>\n \u201cI have a lot of respect for Ferrari,\u201d Lowdon explains. \u201cIt’s a team we’ve worked with before in the past; I know the people there very well. I know just how highly they valued Zhou’s input in 2025, which was another big factor for us.<\/p>\n \u201cIt also means that, in some way, that Zhou staying in that overall family, he’s had experience of development and experience of the 2026 tyres, and also just experience in operating in a top-class, very competitive team.<\/p>\n \u201cSo from our point of view, it just ticked all of the boxes in so many ways; the experience, the direct experience with Ferrari, who are our partner for the power unit and the gearbox, and so it just made a lot of sense for him to join the team.\u201d<\/p>\n The move will also see Zhou reunite with Bottas, his former Kick Sauber team mate with whom he shared a good relationship \u2013 and this proved to be another element that appealed in bringing the 26-year-old onboard.<\/p>\n \u201cAnother factor that we look for is the chemistry between all of the drivers, and we know already that the relationship between Checo and Valtteri is a really strong one \u2013 and I have no doubts as well that in selecting Zhou, based on seeing how he’s worked with Valtteri over the last few years, that that working relationship would be very conducive to the overall goals of the team,\u201d says Lowdon.<\/p>\n \u201cIt kind of goes without saying that these guys are all very, very fast. We’ve said it a number of times before that we select all of the drivers in our programme on merit. We would have no qualms about any of these drivers getting in the car and racing in a Formula 1 Grand Prix.\u201d<\/p>\n How recruiting the right reserve driver adds \u2018a lot\u2019 to a team<\/p>\n While Zhou will not be on the grid in 2026, Lowdon \u2013 who has worked with Zhou as part of the Chinese driver\u2019s management team \u2013 has stressed how crucial the reserve role is for Cadillac, particularly in terms of preparing for this season\u2019s new wave of technical regulations<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cHaving a good, experienced reserve driver just adds that little bit extra to \u2013 or adds a lot extra, actually \u2013 to just how fast the team can both gel together and compete,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n \u201cThat’s another element I should mention; I’ve known Zhou for a while, so I know he’s very, very committed. He’s very much a team player, and that’s absolutely what we need as a new team. He’s very respectful and technically extremely knowledgeable and extremely good.<\/p>\n \u201cHe has a very good feel for the car, and also a very good feel for what we think are the elements of racing that are going to be important in 2026 with all of the new regulation changes.\u201d<\/p>\n Prior to selecting Zhou for the position \u2013 in which his duties will include working closely with Bottas and Perez along with the wider engineering team, providing technical insight and carrying out simulator work \u2013 the team went through what Lowdon described in the announcement of Zhou\u2019s signing as a \u201cthorough\u201d process in choosing the right candidate.<\/p>\n When asked about what this involved, the Team Principal responds: \u201cIt actually goes back some time to when we were also looking at the selection of the race drivers for 2026. We spoke to a lot of drivers.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are out of synchronisation with a lot of the other teams in terms of driver contracts, and so that actually meant that we had quite a lot of time to meet people, talk about different people’s plans and just really select the best line-up that we can for 2026.<\/p>\n \u201cWe’ve talked to a lot of drivers within the TWG and GM family, there are an awful lot of drivers as well, so we actually have direct relationships with a whole bunch of drivers. And that just gives us a really good opportunity to look at what is the best line-up going forward, not just in 2026 but looking ahead beyond that as well. I’m really, really happy with the overall line-up that we’ve got.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018No competitive issue\u2019 between Zhou and Herta<\/p>\n That line-up will see Zhou work alongside Herta, who will embark on his maiden F2 season<\/a> as well as acting as Cadillac\u2019s test driver. Does Lowdon expect Zhou\u2019s experience to be beneficial in supporting the American racer?<\/p>\n \u201cI would hope so,\u201d says Lowdon. \u201cAll formula move on year to year, but also there are elements that stay in the DNA of a particular formula, and obviously Formula 2 is a formula that Zhou competed in very successfully, and so I would hope that he’d be able to impart some of that knowledge onto Colton.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re team mates now, and everybody wants everyone within the team to do well, so I would hope that that’s going to be an advantage. These are younger guys, still with plenty of Formula 1 opportunity ahead of them, both of them, so I can see that being a really productive relationship.<\/p>\n \u201cThere’s no kind of competitive issue here. Zhou is the reserve driver \u2013 he has a super licence, he’s the guy who would jump in to replace one of the race drivers if needed. Colton doesn’t have super licence \u2013 he qualifies as a rookie, therefore he can do FP1 sessions that Zhou can’t do.<\/p>\n \u201cSo there’s some real synergy here, and I’m looking forward to working with a whole group of drivers \u2013 race drivers, reserve, test, sim drivers \u2013 all working together with the objective of maximising the potential of this brand-new team.\u201d<\/p>\n As Lowdon touched on, Zhou still has the potential to make a return to the grid in the future; indeed, the driver from Shanghai spoke earlier last year<\/a> of holding the long-term goal of making an F1 comeback.<\/p>\n In terms of what the future holds for the team\u2019s new reserve driver, Lowdon believes that the position offers an ideal opportunity to keep Zhou at the \u201cforefront of people\u2019s minds in Formula 1, both in his role now and also potential opportunities for the future\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s incredibly difficult to get race seats in Formula 1 \u2013 we all know that,\u201d he concedes. \u201cBut the best way to do that is to demonstrate speed and ability as a team player, and if you’re not actually on the grid racing, then the next best platform to be able to do that is as a reserve driver.<\/p>\n