F1 News: ‘A lot’ of F1 driver talks ahead, says Cadillac’s Lowdon
(GMM) More candidates have emerged for the two race seats at Formula 1’s all-new team Cadillac for 2026 says team boss Lowdon.
Colton Herta, already driving for Andretti in IndyCar, is the clear frontrunner for at least one cockpit, fulfilling the strong desire for at least one American racer.
The problem? His lack of the points he needs to qualify for an FIA super license.
“If that remains the case then it will clearly be a barrier for him,” Cadillac team boss Graeme Lowdon, once the team principal at the defunct Virgin team, said.
One American who clearly does have the mandatory F1 credential, however, is Logan Sargeant, who not only lost his Williams seat mid last year, but also pulled out of a sports car seat he had lined up for 2025.
“As far as I know,” Lowdon said, “Logan is no longer involved in motorsport. He’s American, but no, we haven’t had any discussions with him.”
Sergio Perez, meanwhile, may not be American, but he is Latin American – and would bring substantial backing with him from his Mexican sponsors and connections.
The axed Red Bull driver’s politician father, Antonio Perez Garibay, told Mexican television on Monday: “Sergio is preparing something big and important for the Mexican fans – they will be very happy and proud, and I hope it will last for many years.
“Sergio is looking forward to returning to become a champion, because that is the only thing he is missing.”
Valtteri Bottas is also searching for a race seat at present, as is his 2024 Sauber teammate Guanyu Zhou. The latter, a Chinese driver, has the benefit of existing connections not only with Cadillac’s 2026 engine partner Ferrari, but also with Lowdon.
Lowdon is Zhou’s manager.
“There is no preference in any direction, either for him or for any other driver,” the team’s British boss insisted. “We are here to do a job, so we will choose drivers based on merit.
“There are some very good ones available, including Zhou.”
Lowdon is predicting forthcoming talks with “a lot” of “very talented” drivers with experience of Formula 1 already who are not currently on the grid.
“My phone is definitely busy,” he smiled. “There are easily half a dozen candidates, if not more, who have extremely good credentials to be in Formula 1 or to end up back there.”
Daniel Ricciardo recently declared that he is “done” with F1, but Mick Schumacher is still keen to break back onto the grid.
“It’s a bit too early to go into too much more detail because we’re only now in a position to have meaningful discussions,” Lowdon commented.