Who should GM sign for Cadillac’s F1 entry? Our writers have their say

Formula 1’s driver market for 2026 is expected to be much less lively than the seat-swapping antics that plagued last season, as many of the championship’s key players prepare for the arrival of F1’s new regulatory overhaul.

That said, there is one major destination that many of those left for 2025 may choose to pursue, as welcoming the Cadillac to the grid opens up two additional seats. It’s not only a chance for seat-less speedsters to restart their F1 careers, but also provides an opportunity for new drivers to write their names in history – for better or for worse.

Which drivers make the most compelling cases for General Motors to consider its first trip to F1? Our writers have set their sights on the most likely candidates – or even offered their own suggestions – for a Caddy drive…

Why should Cadillac choose Bottas – Alex Kalinaukas

Cadillac’s F1 arrival in 2026 will be notably different from Audi’s – with the GM brand starting from scratch rather than buying an existing team. So it will need a little more experienced personnel, and even more importantly for at least one of its two most important employees: its first F1 driver.

The idea of ​​Cadillac bringing an American driver to F1 is as delightfully romantic as it is shrewd business sense. But given that top-line IndyCar peddlers like Colton Herta (more on him later) will also be a category novice, his teammate will need proven speed as well as bags of F1 experience and a team to develop. Will need a track record to help. Technical front.

Move over, Valtteri Bottas.

The Finn may feel somewhat aggrieved by being out of the field in 2025 – although the junior career of his replacement at Sauber, Gabriel Bortoletto, at least matches that of Charles Leclerc, George Russell and Lando Norris in terms of titles. The Brazilian certainly deserves success at the top level.

But Bottas could offer Cadillac a quiet and detailed effort to pace its first F1 car. He is familiar with the Ferrari engines the American squad will use for at least its first two years and will not rock the boat if early results prove hard to come by.

Bottas is also seriously fast, even deep into his career. He pushed Lewis Hamilton a lap more than he has been given credit for during his time as Mercedes teammate and he finished 2024 with a 20-3 qualifying record against Zhou Guanyu (from all counting sessions). Concluded. It stands alongside Max Verstappen’s 21-3 against Sergio Perez and Lando Norris’s 20-4 against Oscar Piastri.

What doesn’t help matters for Bottas is looking at the average of each driver’s 10 fastest laps in each race last year (where they accomplished that total and taking into account the important caveats about strategy and incidents. Keeping), he came to the bottom of the pile. I recently did an analysis for Autosport magazine. Car performance plays a huge role in such a result, but Zhou’s average was surprisingly 0.238 seconds better.

But even if he’s not at the level he once was, Bottas’ energy and character will be a boon not only to the growing Cadillac squad, but to F1 overall.

He has now had a year on the sidelines, but to still land the role as reserve driver at Mercedes, he will have to make a case straight to Graeme Lowden and company. Well, it worked for Nico Hulkenberg with Gunther Steiner in 2022…

Perez is a good option if he still has the drive – Ben Vinnell

Sergio Perez admittedly would be a strange choice for Cadillac after its disappointing 2024 season – a campaign so disastrous that Red Bull terminated its contract with the Mexican early. At first glance, an odd choice.

There is no doubt that Pérez’s performance last year is not representative of what he can do as a driver. Sometimes things don’t work properly for one reason or the other, be it technical or psychological. And this is how many high-profile partnerships in F1 history end, such as Sebastian Vettel with Ferrari in 2020.

In the past, Pérez had proven that he was a consistent driver with flashes of talent. Perhaps not fast enough to become world champion, but solid enough that he was a fantastic asset to any midfield team. And now, he is one of the top eight F1 drivers of all time in terms of Grand Prix starts – with no fewer than 281.

The 34-year-old veteran could therefore be an ideal choice for Cadillac to form its new F1 team. From a business perspective, Pérez’s sponsorship can only be positive, and he can boost General Motors sales in Mexico. GM sold about 184,000 vehicles in the Central American country in 2023 — including about a thousand Cadillacs. This is just 3% of its worldwide production.

What remains to be seen is whether Perez remains motivated enough to put his head down and dedicate himself to such a big project.

Zhou has financial savvy – Stuart Codding

This would be a no-brainer suggestion, even if newly appointed Cadillac F1 team principal Zhou Guanyu were not the manager. Enlightened self-interest from the top table is hardly anything new in F1. Zac Brown is involved in the management of Lando Norris and has not caused a single loss to McLaren.

Zhou has the necessary experience with ground-effect F1 machinery and is reportedly diligent, professional and hard-working in the garage. While his results at Sauber have rarely offered cause for celebration, the cars have rarely been good during his tenure. Notably, he scored the first points for the team last year when an update was finally implemented that increased performance.

Even if you’re not a fan, the business logic makes sense. Granted, the likely reality of the team’s first year or two will be a “arrive on Sunday, expect to sell out on Monday” situation, but Zhou is a major marketable figure in his home country.

Currently, GM sells more Cadillacs in China than in the U.S., but overall GM’s market share is declining and its joint venture operations there – including, but not limited to, ventures that build Cadillac models locally – Loss of $200 million in 2023. Recently published set of data.

Going the American way with Hertha – Jake Boxall-Legge

Cadillac can’t have the stipulation that it will need to field an American driver in its inaugural foray into F1. Experience is certainly the priority for any one seat, but, for pure marketing value and the opportunity to cement itself as an authentic, all-American entry (based in the UK and backed by an Italian powerplant), a US -based driver would be a great asset. And, of course, Colton Herta has to lead that list.

Herta has been within touching distance of F1 before; Let’s not forget that it was only the superlicence point that prevented him from driving to AlphaTauri… OK, that’s a pretty big hurdle, but the conversation went ahead nonetheless. The story goes that AlphaTauri was unwilling to let Pierre Gasly leave for Alpine unless he could secure the services of Herta – of course, the subsequent switch to secure the services of Nick de Vries gave Gasly the opportunity to seek pastures new. Allowed to go in.

This time, Hertha is very close to the golden 40 Superlicense points. Finishing second in last year’s IndyCar standings gave Herta a total of 32 points – a feat he would need to finish fourth in this year’s championship to achieve.

Ultimately, the most important question concerns performance. Herta was said to be impressive while testing for McLaren in 2022, which was enough for AlphaTauri to secure his services for next year. Let’s not forget that he was a close rival of Lando Norris in MSA F4, which led to then-boss Trevor Carlin extolling the American’s qualities on the British junior scene. The Herta will need time to adapt, and the Cadillac may need to consider a try-before-you-buy approach – ie. Throw money at another team to run him in an FP1 session or ring-fence him for some TPC time to see if he’s ready to step up to F1.

In terms of talent, he has everything it takes to succeed. Whether Herta would want to exchange his relaxing IndyCar drives for the piranha pits of F1 is another matter entirely…

Palau needs to be considered – Philip Cleren

I obviously understand the family ties and Cadillac’s desire to put an American driver in one of its cars. But if the American manufacturer is going to turn to IndyCar to find one of its recruits, why not take the best driver available? Alex Pallo has had an incredible IndyCar career so far, taking just five seasons to rack up three drivers’ titles and 12 wins.

At Ganassi, he has been compared to Scott Dixon, the best driver of his generation and is still considered the gold standard in IndyCar racing, and his consistency in particular has been excellent, collecting 30 podiums in 81 races. , including one. Rookie season with younger Dale Coyne.

Palou is still chasing that elusive Indy 500 victory, but other than that the Spaniard doesn’t have much to prove in North America and at 27 he’s still too young to give F1 a run for his money. He has never hidden his ambitions to do so, becoming embroiled in a contract dispute with Ganassi and McLaren in 2022 as he tried to force a move to the Papaya team, which would be able to offer him a path towards an F1 programme. seemed to. In future. He then walked away from his McLaren deal when he became confident that he would be able to secure an F1 seat with the team.

Pallo has since settled with Ganassi and vowed to continue trying to win more IndyCar championships and score that all-important Indy 500 with the team. But if an F1 seat is on the table again – not a vague possibility in the future, but a solid, guaranteed 2026 berth – why wouldn’t he at least consider it?