Formula 1 Rumor: Cadillac F1 team driver picks for 2026

Cadillac’s best bet for an American driver for one of its two F1 seats in 2026 is current American F2 driver Jak Crawford.

He knows the tracks, is a winner in F2 and he turns 20 years old today and will have enough Super License points to qualify for an F1 license. Former F1 driver Logan Sargeant of course, qualifies, but it appears he has stepped away from racing,

April 27, 2025

Cadillac has wanted to have one American and one veteran on its new F1 team starting in 2026. However, finding an American with enough Super License points is difficult.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

Cadillac’s best bet is current American F2 driver Jak Crawford. Crawford has one F2 Sprint and one F2 Feature Race win to his credit and has finished on the podium 11 times.

Crawford has accumulated 33 Super License points as of late March 2025. He achieved this by combining his results in F2 in 2023, Formula Regional Asian Series, and Formula 3 in 2022. To qualify for an F1 Super License, drivers need 40 points over the past three years, but Crawford could gain more points through Free Practice 1 outing or by doing well in F2 this year.

Crawford is already a reserve driver for the Andretti (nee Cadillac) Formula E Team

Juan Pablo Montoya thinks Mexican Sergio Perez and Zhou Guanyu will be the best fit for Cadillac on its arrival to Formula 1 in 2026.

Montoya thinks Perez is the most obvious bet for the team, given his extensive experience in F1 with both midfield and frontrunning squads, plus he brings a lot of sponsorship money to the team.

However, for Montoya, his 2nd candidate is Zhou, who has been appointed as a reserve driver by Ferrari this year after being dropped from Sauber’s race line-up.

“I think Sergio Perez would be a great fit for Cadillac, and I bet you money the next guy might be Zhou Guanyu,” Montoya told Instant Casino.

“They would be a perfect fit. Guanyu is the Ferrari reserve. So, he’ll be driving, developing and working. He’ll know everything about Ferrari, and Cadillac will be running a Ferrari engine through the 2028 season.

“So, if you look at it from that point of view, it would make sense.”

Zhou Guanyu – his manager is Graeme Lowdon who is now the Team Principal for the Cadillac F1 team. All the stars are aligning for Zhou in the 2nd Cadillac seat

Also, and perhaps just as important, China is a big market for the Cadillac brand and with Zhou being Chinese, that would be a big boost for car sales in China.

Montoya doesn’t think an American driver like Colton Herta would be able to succeed in F1, despite his strong credentials in IndyCar and experience of competing in junior championships in Europe.

“People say Cadillac should get an American. I think it would be crazy if Colton Herta decided to come to F1,” said Montoya, a two-time Indy 500 winner.

“I don’t think it would be as easy as he thinks.

“For speed, I think Herta has enough speed and be good enough speed-wise to do it. But understanding going from IndyCar to this is such a different change.

“The shock alone of moving to Europe and a different culture would be so big that I think it would screw with his head. If he did do it, the chances of surviving and prospering in it would be very slim.”