One of the most promising young stars in recent NASCAR memory, 19-year-old Connor Zilisch’s eye-catching performances in the Cup, Xfinity, and Truck Series have led to a renewed call for the new Cadillac Formula 1 team to call up the young American when they make their debut in 2026.
Zilisch, who recently suffered a broken collarbone whilst celebrating his latest victory, causing him to withdraw from the Cup Series race, has longstanding ties with racing in Europe, having competed there during his karting days, even winning the 2020 FIA Karting Academy Trophy, following in the footsteps of a certain Charles Leclerc.
Now on the precipice of winning the Xfinity Series regular season at his first attempt with Dale Earnhardt Jr.‘s JR Motorsports, having won six times this season, with four coming in his last five races, former IndyCar star and current F1 TV analyst James Hinchcliffe has suggested it may be time for Cadillac to give Zilisch a shot.
The Canadian, who won on six occasions during his IndyCar career, praised Zilisch for adapting to oval racing, with his background being road courses as he placed him on a five-man shortlist of potential targets.
“Incredibly impressive that he is now competitive on the types of track that a lot of the drivers he’s racing against trained on exclusively on their rise to this level,” he said, via Formula1.com.
“And that’s really my point on Zilisch – he seems to be one of the most adaptable drivers that I’ve ever seen. Watching what he’s done so far gives me the feeling that if he was given a proper programme in an open wheel car, and a season or two of F2 to cut his teeth, he could be F1-worthy in short order. And he has the time, because despite the impressive CV he is still only 19 years old.”
Zilisch has previously admitted to having ‘dreamed’ about a future in F1. What’s more, he also appears to harbor a similar mindset to fellow Red Bull athlete Max Verstappen, with regard to a desire to try his hand at multiple racing series as his career progresses, rather than setting records in one.
“[F1 is] always in the back of my mind,” Zilisch said on the Stacking Pennies Podcast. “Growing up it was my dream, I wanted to race F1. I went to Europe when I was a kid racing go-karts, it’s what I wanted to do. It’s just when I was younger, I didn’t really have the chance.
“Now with an American team being brought to F1, having connections with Red Bull and being kinda tied in there, I’d say the chances aren’t zero.”
However, a switch from NASCAR to F1 wouldn’t be as simple as merely moving to Europe and stepping into the cockpit. First, he’d need to amass enough FIA Super License points, which would be tough to do in NASCAR given that winning the Cup Series only grants the driver 15 points, with 12 for second and 10 for third. To be granted a Super License and thus become eligible to race in F1, a driver needs a total of 40 points.
“If it were to happen, I’d have to go over there for at least a year, two years probably to even get enough Super Licence points to qualify,” Zilisch added. “I’d run F3… I’d just run a bunch of ‘BS’ series to get Super Licence points. Middle East F3, random things that you can do to get the points.
“That’s why it would be such a big commitment. I’d want to get settled in here first and know that if I go over there for two years I could come back and still have a job.”
While a future in F1 appears to be little more than a dream at this point in time for Zilisch, his NASCAR outlook is bright, with a Cup Series seat at Trackhouse Racing expected to be awaiting him next season once Daniel Suarez has departed.