Cadillac director Mario Andretti said the goal is to have an American driver on the team but hinted that may not be immediately achievable.

The General Motrtos teams has been confirmed for a 2026 grid spot, leaving everyone to wonder who will be behind the wheel, and director Andretti has hinted at who they are looking at.

Mario Andretti reveals latest Cadillac driver plans

While the team have so far kept quiet, the general belief is the American company wants to have a US driver in at least one of the cars in order to capitalise on the interest from their home country.

With that in mind, names like Colton Herta have been linked but Andretti revealed the goal of having a US driver may not be achievable right away.

“Since we haven’t had a lot of participation as of late in Formula 1, I think to have a vehicle, to have a team to really truly consider American, I think that the idea of trying to look at bringing some talent from here is for real,” he told FOX.

“[F1] is definitely riding a wave of popularity [in the US] — it’s unprecedented — but you still have to feed that.

“I think there’s a lot of national pride. The fact that we have three races here — why not have the opportunity to cultivate and have some of the US fans root for American drivers at one point?

“All of this is looking forward to the future. These are the things to work toward, because it’s all positive, and if you have a bubble, like we do here, you have to keep feeding that bubble. You don’t want to let it burst.”

Away from the US, a number of other drivers have been linked with the seat, most notably Sergio Perez who was reportedly in Miami at the same time as the recent Formula 1 race.

Asked about the former Red Bull driver, Andretti confirmed he was one of the drivers “being considered.”

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“All I can tell you is that he’s certainly one of the drivers that’s being considered,” the 1978 World Champion said. “He has to be.

“I cannot divulge as to where we are with any commitment whatsoever — I think we want to keep that luxury to ourselves until we feel that we have scanned the entire spectrum of availability. I think that’s a prudent thing to do.

“The choice is somewhat limited — let’s face it, a lot of the great talents are already under contract. Fortunately still there are a few out there — three or four; I’ll say maybe three — that certainly deserve consideration, and all of this is being looked upon very seriously.

“There are some conversations going on somewhere and in some other places. That’s as much as I can tell you to be fair to everyone.”

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