Four likely contenders for seats in Cadillac F1

      At the end of last week, news came that everyone knew about in advance: Formula 1 and the FIA finally officially approved Cadillac F1's bid to participate in the 2026 World Championship.

      The General Motors factory team doesn't have much time to create a car, and you can take your time deciding on the team, especially since there are more than enough people willing to become its drivers and there will be plenty to choose from.

      But even now, the names of four drivers are most often heard in this context, and the official website of the championship has attempted to analyze the arguments in favor of each of these candidates, which the leadership of the new team is probably already weighing – even on such distant approaches.

      Colton Hurt

      Graham Loudon, the head of the new team, stated in a recent interview: "We're going to choose the riders based on their achievements, but we don't see any reason why we shouldn't invite American riders."

      There are a lot of talented and fast guys in the overseas championships, but perhaps Colton Herta meets the most obvious criteria better than many. He is only 24 years old, and at the end of last season he became the vice-champion of IndyCar, meaning there is no doubt about his speed.

      Since 2019, he has held the record: Colton is the youngest race winner in the history of this series. By the way, he then rose to the top of the podium at the end of his second race, and it was at the track in Austin, including the host of the US Grand Prix.

      An important point is that he is competing in this American championship for the Andretti Global team, which belongs to TWG Motorsports, which, together with Cadillac, is engaged in a Formula 1 program.

      When Colton says that he is not thinking about the possible prospect of moving to F1 yet, he can be understood, because now he is primarily focused on preparing for the Indy 500 race, which he wants to win, as well as the championship in general. If he succeeds, or at least finishes in the top four at the end of the year, he is guaranteed to receive a super license, and this will allow him to compete in Formula 1.

      Valtteri Bottas

      This year, the Finn is working with Mercedes again, but only as a reserve driver, but he is unlikely to stay on the bench for long. The new Cadillac team will benefit from his experience of 247 Grands Prix, of which he won 10, started from pole position in 20, and reached the podium 67 times in total.

      Lawrence Barretto, the author of the text on the official website of the championship, argues as follows: "Bottas would definitely like to fit into the new project – if not for this, he would not seek the role of Mercedes reserve driver, because he has to attend all 24 races of the season. And considering that his candidacy was considered by Williams, Sauber and Alpine, it means that the Finn's shares are still highly valued."

      Moreover, he already had contacts with Loudon, since the head of Cadillac F1 is also Guanyu Zhou's manager, with whom Valtteri worked for Sauber for three years.

      Guanyu Zhou

      When the Chinese driver did not get a place in the championship teams in 2025, he was not too upset, because he felt that skipping the season in order to properly rest and regain his strength was not so bad. And soon he signed a contract with Ferrari, with which he now cooperates as a reserve driver.

      In particular, he will have to work a lot on the simulator, and he will certainly pilot the Scuderia cars from previous years, so he will have the opportunity to keep in good shape.

      At the same time, as mentioned above, Graham Loudon is his manager and knows his protege very well, his strengths and weaknesses, so Guanyu Zhou's name should be on the list of candidates for a place in Cadillac F1. It will be strange if this is not the case.

      And one more thing: Cadillac cars are sold in China much more than in the USA itself.

      Sergio Perez

      Red Bull Racing refused to continue working with Sergio Perez, and Liam Lawson took his place in the team, but the Mexican is one of the most experienced professionals in modern Formula 1. Nevertheless, he held 281 Grands Prix, won 6 victories and won three qualifications. And for the first time he reached the podium back in 2012, when he played for Sauber.

      Sergio definitely dreams of returning to the world Championship, and one of the arguments for Cadillac F1 may be the fact that at one time he did a good job even driving not the fastest cars.

      It is worth mentioning a couple more significant factors: Perez has generous Mexican sponsors and a huge army of fans in Central and South America, who have filled the stands for many years, first in Austin, and then in Miami and Las Vegas. There is no need to talk about the Mexican Grand Prix – Sergio is considered a national hero in his homeland.

      True, Cadillac's sales in this country leave much to be desired, but if GM makes a choice in favor of the Mexican racer, it will help to improve the situation somewhat.