Inside F1: Who Are the Candidates for Cadillac's 2026 Seats?
Mar.10 - Formula 1 and the FIA have finally cemented in stone Cadillac's official arrival in the sport for 2026.
As soon as the news hit the headlines, a fresh wave of speculation about who will drive the initially Ferrari-powered cars next year emerged.
Mick Schumacher, who was at the Race of Champions in Sydney at the weekend, thinks he should be a candidate.
"At this point, everything is an option," the German told Speed Week.
"As I have said in various interviews, I feel that I have what it takes for Formula 1. But we have to wait and see what happens. The year is still long and the goal is to return in 2026."
Most insiders think Andretti's existing top driver in Indycar, Colton Herta, is the obvious favourite - something openly acknowledged by Cadillac figures, too.
"One of the signs that it will be him is that he is the highest-paid Indycar driver with $7 million a year," said Dutch driver and pundit Renger van der Zande. "The rest get around three to four million.
"That's because they have actually already offered Herta a contract in Formula 1."
Another Dutch pundit, Jack Plooij, told Ziggo Sport that he thinks George Russell is in the running for the other seat - especially as he thinks the Briton will be pushed out of Mercedes by Max Verstappen.
But Aston Martin's new simulator driver Dani Juncadella thinks it would be a great injustice if Herta's Indycar rival Alex Palou is not considered by Cadillac.
"If Palou doesn't enter the frame for one of these seats in 2026, I'm going to set X on fire," he joked on the social media platform.
"And each and every one of the seats and brands to which I belong are in danger, since I'm not responsible for the actions of my keyboard," Jucadella jovially continued. "At least I'm warning you."
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Mick's F1 career has been over for good ever since he didn't receive any full-time drive for the 2024 season as he's simply been away from F1 racing too long for someone without vast racing experience & any sporting success in the series, so I wish he fully accepted his fate instead of unrealistically thinking anyone would want him anymore as all teams have clearly been overlooking him.
Even if Herta became SL-eligible he might still directly decline the offer since he's spoken skeptically about switching to F1 anymore, & Russell isn't going anywhere anytime soon, so merely mentioning him is pointless as is mentioning Palou as he meets neither of Cadillac's criteria, which are US driver & a driver with vast previous F1 racing experience, so all things considered, their first driver lineup will most likely be Herta/Crawford/another US driver-Perez/Bottas.
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