For almost three years, getting System 1’s latest crew 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, mission leaders and the store area 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 attainable American decide), a pair choices at the moment on the IndyCar grid, at the very 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 prone to be on crew 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 up to now 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 question go away a gaping gap for the game’s unending foolish season to work out, but when the crew really believes he’s your best option, with pairing nicely with incoming American sponsors, that’s a small worth to pay.
From 2022:
All that appears to face in his manner is ending 4th or higher within the 2025 championship. One can achieve a brilliant license by accumulating at the very 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) go away 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 crew to take part in an FP1 session subsequent yr (1 level).
So whereas that is not an Andretti-branded crew, it’ll be operated by Herta’s bosses all the identical, and there’s no cause to assume 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 probably 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 lots 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 may permit them to go away 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 experience (a declare they deny). In line with a collection supply, .
In line with one other collection supply, , supplied 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 vogue.
Given Cadillac F1 can be smart to wish to pair a seasoned veteran accustomed to F1 equipment and tracks alongside their potential top-pick in Herta, Palou and O’Ward would appear to be longshots. Each have examined F1 vehicles on a handful of tracks and performed simulator work (as has Herta), however a Herta-Palou/O’Ward tandem can be a bit dangerous for a brand-new crew on the F1 grid.
The place O’Ward and Palou might consider 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 an analogous class to these above – younger fallback choices. All 4 supply far more time in F1 equipment than O’Ward or Palou, together with at the very 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 very best odds amongst younger American drivers to succeed in 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 outstanding end to the season might 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 wished to actually go all-in on the all-American schtick, they may signal Herta and Crawford. Such a transfer would appear extremely dangerous however it could additionally probably play fairly nicely for potential American sponsors.
And if Herta cannot land his tremendous license, Crawford instantly turns into P1 on the record 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:
Stable System 1 veterans: Valtteri Bottas, Kevin Magnussen, Sergio Perez, Yuki Tsunoda
Outdoors Herta, somebody from this group appears almost certainly 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 total crew will likely be expertise. The youngest amongst them – Tsunoda – can have had 5 F1 seasons below his belt by this time subsequent yr.
Cadillac can be best-served to have a driver who can inform them what’s going to reduce 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 very least six races of their respective careers.
What may give Bottas or Magnussen an edge is the concept 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 Crimson Bull will likely be determined after the season-finale; he might stick with the lead crew, be demoted to Visa Money App RB, or reduce unfastened altogether.
If Cadillac can pounce quick, the driving force might play a hands-on position within the crew’s automobile growth. 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 crew’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 might need 2025 rides (Kimi Antonelli, Jack Doohan, Liam Lawson and Franco Colapinto), there’s one driver left on the 2025 grid with no 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 crew 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 in the hunt for efficiency, velocity, consistency and the power to as soon as once more battle for a driver and constructor’s championship that grew to become so widespread from 2014-2021. Although they run a transparent 4th-best to McLaren, Crimson Bull and Ferrari in the meanwhile, the crew’s 4 mixed wins this yr leaves hope for 2025.
Nonetheless, it’s arduous to disregard that in contrast to some prime drivers in recent times, Mercedes appears prone to permit Russell to enter a contract yr with no new deal. For a driver rumored to be making just below $20 million per yr in his present deal, may Cadillac and billionaire Mark Walter be capable to swoop in and double (or extra) his present wage to be the face of F1’s latest crew?
It appears extremely unlikely, notably 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.
