Cadillac F1 chief Graeme Lowdon drops 'experienced' hint over 2026 driver decision

Cadillac project boss Graeme Lowdon hinted that the team is looking at "experienced" drivers ahead of its maiden season in Formula 1. But he insists "nothing is decided" with the team prioritising its efforts to be ready for their debut next March.

Cadillac's entry brings the number of race seats on the grid back up to 22 for the first time since 2016. And, as there are more drivers than that who hold a superlicence and who want to race in the sport, there has naturally been plenty of interest in the two seats available at F1's newest outfit.

It is understood that talks have been held with several options already this year. But Cadillac are not yet in a position to make any decisions over who will drive for them in their debut season, mostly because they are far too busy focusing on other areas for now.

Team principal Lowdon said as much while speaking to a select group of journalists, including Mirror Sport, invited to the outfit's UK base in Silverstone. He said: "A good comment, actually, from someone walking around when they saw all the stuff that was going on, 'I can see why the drivers isn't the number one thing on the list'.

Sign up to our free weekly F1 newsletter, Pit Lane Chronicle, by entering your email address below so that every new edition lands straight in your inbox!

"It is at other teams where they're dealing with a different level of what's already in place. So, no, nothing's decided yet. Yes, we know who's in the market. We've got a good idea of what we need, but we're still some way off reaching that stage."

But he did offer a hint as to the profile of driver that they are likely to target, adding: "I think there's a very strong argument to say that a new team in its first year of racing would benefit hugely from people who are experienced."

READ MORE: Inside F1 strategy: Bernie Collins lifts lid on McLaren and Aston Martin pressure cooker

READ MORE: Managing Red Bull as Max Verstappen signs new contract and Yuki Tsunoda is replaced

That backs up the paddock belief that the likes of Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas are front-runners for those available seats. Both are multi-race winners who do not currently have a place on the F1 grid, having last December lost their places with Red Bull and Sauber respectively.

Speaking exclusively to Mirror Sport at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in May, Bottas made it clear he is keen on joining the Cadillac project. The Finn said: "The new team joining the sport is also exciting. I think Cadillac, what we've seen so far, looks a really cool and interesting project.

"As a driver, you can kind of start from scratch. Everything is new, so you can actually make a really big impact and, for me, that's quite interesting. There's been some [discussions]. But they are not in a rush and neither am I, really."

Perez is also understood to have held discussions with Cadillac bosses, while Bottas' former Sauber team-mate Zhou Guanyu could also be an option. While less experienced than the other two, the Chinese racer has significant financial backing which could prove attractive, while Lowdon was previously part of Zhou's personal management team.