{"id":74324,"date":"2025-08-11T09:39:07","date_gmt":"2025-08-11T09:39:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/74324\/"},"modified":"2025-08-11T09:39:07","modified_gmt":"2025-08-11T09:39:07","slug":"cadillac-f1-team-told-they-should-consider-most-adaptable-nascar-driver-for-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/74324\/","title":{"rendered":"Cadillac F1 team told they should consider ‘most adaptable’ NASCAR driver for 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Formula 1 grid is expanding in 2026 with the addition of an 11th team in the form of Cadillac. <\/p>\n

It follows a lengthy tender process for new teams set out by the FIA and F1, with Cadillac<\/a> taking over what was previously the Andretti entry. <\/p>\n

Andretti was initially rejected because F1\u2019s commercial rights holders felt it would not add value and held concerns over its competitiveness. <\/p>\n

Cadillac would take over the entry bid and was duly accepted, with the American outfit set to join in 2026 as a customer team before bringing in its parent company, General Motors, as a power unit manufacturer in 2028. <\/p>\n

Questions are now being raised over who could be part of their driver lineup, and James Hinchcliffe<\/a> has suggested a driver he thinks would make an impact in a column for F1.com<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\"ConnorPhoto by Sean Gardner\/Getty ImagesJames Hinchcliffe suggests NASCAR driver for Cadillac F1 team<\/p>\n

Mercedes and former Sauber F1 driver Valtteri Bottas has been slated as a potential candidate for Cadillac<\/a>, given his recent experience. <\/p>\n

Bottas teased a drive with Cadillac on his social media channels, indicating that it might not be too long before we see him back on the grid. <\/p>\n

Cadillac will likely want to have an American talent, and while the continent is not short of potential drivers, Hinchcliffe has highlighted NASCAR driver Connor Zilisch. <\/p>\n

\u201cCompeting full time in the [NASCAR] Xfinity Championship in 2025, he already has three wins in the season, including his first oval victory. Given his road racing background, it is incredibly impressive that he is now competitive on the types of track that a lot of the drivers he\u2019s racing against trained on exclusively on their rise to this level,\u201d said Hinchcliffe.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd that\u2019s really my point on Zilisch \u2013 he seems to be one of the most adaptable drivers that I\u2019ve ever seen. Watching what he\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ MORE:\u00a0All to know about General Motors\u2019 Cadillac F1 team from engine to drivers<\/a><\/p>\n

Sergio Perez slated for F1 return with Cadillac<\/p>\n

With Bottas firmly on the list for a potential comeback, there could also be another former F1 face who rejoins the grid after a period of absence. <\/p>\n

Sergio Perez has been slated for a comeback with Cadillac<\/a> after being dropped by Red Bull at the end of the 2024 season, following a difficult campaign for the Mexican. <\/p>\n

While it looked like things had reached their natural end for the Mexican, the performances from Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda have not been the improvement expected. <\/p>\n

Perez was bought out of his contract for \u00a311 million<\/a> last year and is currently being paid not to race for Red Bull, having initially agreed a deal with the team to extend last year. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Formula 1 grid is expanding in 2026 with the addition of an 11th team in the form…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":74325,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[53003,53004,425,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-74324","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nascar","8":"tag-cadillac","9":"tag-james-hinchcliffe","10":"tag-nascar","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74324","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74324"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74324\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74325"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74324"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74324"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}