Team prinicpal for the newly formed Cadillac F1, Graeme Lowdon, took part in a media session on Monday, discussing the possibilities of which drivers they will pick for 2026.
While Formula 1 has had 58 drivers from the USA in the past, it’s clear that interest in European racing within the American market has significantly increased over the last five years.
The challenges ahead to pick drivers for Cadillac F1
Now with General Motors and Cadillac entering the circus as the eleventh team, there comes more speculation of opportunity for a driver like Colton Herta.
Nonetheless, with Grand Prix winners Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Pérez on the market, the Brit was keen to point out that the two drivers who get the seats will deserve them on the basis of their talent.
“Formula 1 is not a playground.
“This is the pinnacle of world motorsport. So for sure, we need to select drivers on merit. Now, luckily for us, there are a lot of good drivers out there,” said Graeme Lowdon.
“Unfortunately, we’ve not been able to be in the driver market until the entry is confirmed. So, it’s a little bit too early to go too much into any detail because it’s only now that we’re able to have meaningful conversations.
“But for sure we want to have drivers that can contribute to the overall programme.”
Looking outside F1
The driver pool for Formula 1 teams is expanding, with talent emerging from junior and other motorsport categories.
IndyCar drivers have been known to sign with Formula 1 teams, including McLaren’s Pato O’Ward. The Mexican currently drives for them in the North American category.
A number of drivers from the F1 paddock have also given IndyCar a shot after their time at the pinnacle of racing in recent times.
Graeme Lowdon says there is no reason why a driver from the United States cannot be picked if they prove to be fast enough.
“The obvious question is whether we’ll have American drivers. And personally, I see no reason why an American driver can’t be selected on merit as well.
“So, it’s certainly something that I think that the fans would like to see, and I see no reason why that can’t happen.
“But the overriding objective is merit. We’ve got a job to do here.”
Driver search has begun
When asked about Zhou Guanyu, 25, the answer from Graeme Lowdon reflected the wide search the team is willing to take for the right driver.
The Brit has been the manager for the Chinese driver, helping him secure a spot on the grid with Sauber for three seasons.
Nonetheless, Lowdon has vowed not to let personal biases play a part in the decision for Cadillac F1.
He praised Zhou Guanyu for the job he did at Sauber.
“I don’t envisage any particular problem on that front [a Chinese driver racing for an American brand]. And as I said before, driver selection will definitely be on merit.
“Zhou’s done an exceptionally good job under difficult circumstances over the last couple of years, and what makes it actually quite useful for me is he doesn’t necessarily need to explain the background of his abilities.
“I’ve had a front row seat to to see all that. So, that’s a benefit.
“There’s the correct cheques and balances in place. There’s no favouritism in any particular direction towards him or any other driver that we may have involvement with involved with other drivers on the grid as well.
“So really I just come back to the previous comment, which is we’re there to do a job. So we’ll select drivers on merit.
“There’s some really good ones out there, Zhou included. And now we’re able to actually engage and see what the best driver lineup will be for the team going forward.”
Not the most ideal timing
The timing ofother announcement has not been very ideal, leaving Cadillac in a sticky situation with driver availability as they begin to formalise their own team and processes.
Nonetheless, he is not overly concerned with plenty of free agents on the markets at present.
“I think in terms of timing, it’s kind of a little bit odd because we’re out of sync with the other teams, as I said, we weren’t in the driver market during the kind of fairly critical last round, so certain drivers are tied up for certain periods.
“There’s still a lot of extremely good talent around, so I don’t really see that necessarily as a limiting factor,” confirmed Lowdon.
The team is struggling with timeline issues, particularly in driver negotiations, as they build the team from scratch and play catch-up.
Driver contracts for 2026 are unconfirmed, placing the new Cadillac F1 Team in the midst of the silly season, presenting significant future opportunities for the team.
