For practically three years, getting System 1’s latest staff greenlit has been precedence No. 1 for . System One Administration and Liberty Media have acquiesced and , with Cadillac F1 having already secured a variety of engineers, design consultants, challenge leaders and the store house for them to work.
Now one main query nonetheless looms: Who’re the drivers?
With a lot of F1’s paddock in long-term offers, few of the drivers on the present grid appear to be choices. There stands one apparent favourite (however greater than only one doable American decide), a pair choices at the moment on the IndyCar grid, at the least one at the moment working in F2 and a handful of F1 veterans among the many candidates.
Right here’s a pool of candidates that would appear more likely to be on staff decision-makers’ radars.
Mario Andretti:
The front-runner: Colton Herta
Ever since within the fall of 2021, it’s been clear that Colton Herta, Andretti World’s younger southern California-born IndyCar title contender, .
For 4 years now, Herta, who completed runner-up in his finest IndyCar championship efficiency thus far this yr, has sported the black, yellow and blue colours of Gainbridge. He is served because the poster boy for Dan Towriss’ budding enterprises within the sporting world that now embody naming rights of the house of Indianapolis’ NBA and WNBA groups, sponsor banners at F1’s Miami Grand Prix, and sponsorship of a significant LPGA match.
Herta, 24, has the majority of his racing profession forward of him and can have accomplished seven years of high-level racing in IndyCar by the point the 2026 F1 season rolls round. Plucking him from IndyCar would little doubt depart a gaping gap for the game’s endless foolish season to work out, but when the staff really believes he’s your best option, with pairing properly with incoming American sponsors, that’s a small value to pay.
From 2022:
All that appears to face in his approach is ending 4th or higher within the 2025 championship. One can acquire a brilliant license by accumulating at the least 40 factors throughout a three-season span from the FIA’s grid of level awards per end in probably the most high-profile racing championships across the globe. His runner-up marketing campaign in 2024 (30 factors) together with tenth in 2023 (1 level) depart him with 9 to build up in 2025, both by 4th-place (10 factors) or Fifth-place (8 factors) whereas additionally being drafted by a present staff to take part in an FP1 session subsequent yr (1 level).
So whereas that is not an Andretti-branded staff, it’ll be operated by Herta’s bosses all the identical, and there’s no purpose to suppose he received’t be promoted – so long as he can do the work on the observe.
Different IndyCar hopefuls: Alex Palou and Pato O’Ward
Former IndyCar champs and perennial title contenders like Will Energy, Scott Dixon and Josef Newgarden would match the invoice, however any hopes they could have harbored to compete in F1 have seemingly lengthy since handed. Scott McLaughlin, too, by advantage of 4th, Third and Third-place championship finishes the final three seasons would qualify, too, however he appears loads settled in his new American life.
That leaves the opposite two cogs of IndyCar’s higher echelon: Alex Palou and Pato O’Ward, each of whom are on long-term IndyCar-centric offers, however with out-clauses that will permit them to depart for F1. for F1, was revealed in a submitting from his ongoing lawsuit introduced on by McLaren and Arrow McLaren throughout a back-and-forth targeted on their perception McLaren had promised Palou an F1 trip (a declare they deny). In response to a sequence supply, .
In response to one other sequence supply, , offered McLaren, whose pair of F1 drivers are each at the moment on long-term offers, couldn’t present an F1 seat to the younger Mexican celebrity in a well timed style.
Given Cadillac F1 can be smart to wish to pair a seasoned veteran conversant in F1 equipment and tracks alongside their potential top-pick in Herta, Palou and O’Ward would appear to be longshots. Each have examined F1 automobiles on a handful of tracks and carried out simulator work (as has Herta), however a Herta-Palou/O’Ward tandem can be a bit dangerous for a brand-new staff on the F1 grid.
The place O’Ward and Palou may think about can be if Herta falters in his hope to complete within the top-5 within the championship subsequent yr, and Cadillac F1 officers want a backup plan.
Ex-System 2 standouts: Callum Ilott, Robert Shwartzman, Theo Pourchaire, Felipe Drugovich
This class, which incorporates the 2020 F2 runner-up (Ilott), 2021 F2 runner-up (Shwartzman), the 2022 F2 champ (Drugovich) and ‘22 runner-up and 2023 champ (Pourchaire), would appear to fall into the same class to these above – younger fallback choices. All 4 provide way more time in F1 equipment than O’Ward or Palou, together with at the least three seasons as take a look at or reserve drivers for energetic groups. However none have raced and even logged a lot – if any – race weekend mileage.
A sneak peak:
A budding American System 2 standout: Jak Crawford
Ask across the racing world who had the most effective odds amongst younger American drivers to achieve F1 and the reply has nearly solely been a single identify: . The present member of Aston Martin’s Driver Growth Program, Crawford is within the midst of his second season in F2 and sits Fifth within the championship with two rounds to go.
In his first season with DAMS – – he is logged his first characteristic race victory and stood on 5 podiums. An excellent end to the season may show pivotal as a prime 3 end within the F2 championship qualifies a driver for a brilliant license. He is already been introduced as Andretti World’s reserve driver in System E for 2025.
If Cadillac F1 needed to actually go all-in on the all-American schtick, they might signal Herta and Crawford. Such a transfer would appear extremely dangerous however it might additionally seemingly play fairly properly for potential American sponsors.
And if Herta cannot land his tremendous license, Crawford instantly turns into P1 on the listing of American hopefuls with Mario Andretti (in addition to his sidelined son Michael) lengthy pledging to assist and elevate American racing expertise.
The main points:
Strong System 1 veterans: Valtteri Bottas, Kevin Magnussen, Sergio Perez, Yuki Tsunoda
Outdoors Herta, somebody from this group appears almost definitely to seek out themselves on (or again on) the F1 grid come 2026, as a result of the useful resource Cadillac F1 will crave throughout its complete staff will likely be expertise. The youngest amongst them – Tsunoda – can have had 5 F1 seasons beneath his belt by this time subsequent yr.
Cadillac can be best-served to have a driver who can inform them what is going to minimize it and what received’t on-track. Three of the 4 drivers listed – all however Tsunoda – have raced for a number of groups and began on pole. Bottas and Perez have received at the least six races of their respective careers.
What would possibly give Bottas or Magnussen an edge is the thought they received’t be racing subsequent season, although they’ve been rumored to be in talks with Mercedes and Haas, respectively, about reserve driver roles for 2025. Perez’s future with Purple Bull will likely be determined after the season-finale; he may stick with the lead staff, be demoted to Visa Money App RB, or minimize free altogether.
If Cadillac can pounce quick, the motive force may play a hands-on function within the staff’s automotive improvement. With Herta’s future undecided for an additional 10 months and different backups seemingly there if he ought to falter, this signing ought to turn out to be the staff’s No. 1 precedence.
The all-time Hail Mary: George Russell
Outdoors the 4 drivers listed above and the game’s youngest crop of expertise who both have or may need 2025 rides (Kimi Antonelli, Jack Doohan, Liam Lawson and Franco Colapinto), there’s one driver left on the 2025 grid with out a long-term contract: soon-to-be lead Mercedes driver George Russell. The 26-year-old Brit is at the moment in 12 months 3 of a four-year cope with the staff that’s quickly to lose F1 legend Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari. Since Hamilton’s near-miss championship in 2021, Mercedes has been up and down looking for efficiency, pace, consistency and the flexibility to as soon as once more struggle for a driver and constructor’s championship that turned so widespread from 2014-2021. Although they run a transparent 4th-best to McLaren, Purple Bull and Ferrari in the intervening time, the staff’s 4 mixed wins this yr leaves hope for 2025.
Nonetheless, it’s arduous to disregard that in contrast to some prime drivers lately, Mercedes appears more likely to permit Russell to enter a contract yr with out a new deal. For a driver rumored to be making slightly below $20 million per yr in his present deal, would possibly Cadillac and billionaire Mark Walter have the ability to swoop in and double (or extra) his present wage to be the face of F1’s latest staff?
It appears extremely unlikely, significantly for a driver like Russell coming into the prime of his profession and who has deep ties to Mercedes, however crazier issues have occurred within the racing world of late – even when contracts have been signed.
