Cadillac have chosen the two F1 stars they want to sign for 2026

Formula 1 newbies Cadillac are said to have decided which drivers they want to lead their charge on track in their debut season. The American outfit will become the sport's 11th team when it debuts next March at the 2026 Australian Grand Prix.

With just one year to get everything in place, team principal Graeme Lowdon has plenty on his plate from hiring staff to setting up manufacturing processes and designing their first ever F1 car. Plus, of course, he must hire two drivers to get behind the wheel of those machines next season.

During a recent podcast appearance, Lowdon offered seven names as he shed some light on the decision process. Mick Schumacher, Valtteri Bottas, Sergio Perez, Felipe Drugovich, Frederik Vesti, Arvid Lindblad and Colton Herta were the drivers he mentioned as he discussed Cadillac's options.

And it appears he has narrowed down his options further by choosing his two preferred driver options. Lowdon told Mirror Sport earlier this month that he would prefer "experienced" options and he seems to have stuck to that.

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Speaking on F1 TV ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, correspondent Lawrence Barretto was speaking about the situation of Bottas who is a man in demand. Back at Mercedes as a reserve this year after losing his Sauber race seat, the Finn is wanted by Alpine but also seems to be a leading candidate for Cadillac.

"The more likely landing spot for him is Cadillac," said Barretto, who also revealed the name of the other driver in pole position for a seat. "I hear that they haven't got any contracts done, not even any ahead of terms, but Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas are the two drivers that they want at that team.

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"It's just a case of them going through the motions with it. It might be some time until we find that out. Obviously, there is still some time for that to change, but that's where we're looking I think.

"That's where I think it's going, which makes sense because Valtteri could maybe use the Alpine interest to maybe get a better deal. They want experience, and those two drivers offer that in bags."

Both drivers are multi-race winners throughout their long F1 careers. Bottas won 10 races over five seasons as team-mate to Lewis Hamilton during his first spell with Mercedes, while Perez is a six-time race winner himself, five with Red Bull after his maiden success while still at Racing Point.

Should Cadillac end up contracting those two racers, it will be a tough pill to swallow for Zhou Guanyu. The Chinese racer, now reserve at Ferrari, is also looking for a way back onto the grid and may have been expecting to be a front-runner, given Lowdon was previously a member of his management team.