Mercedes driver Frederik Vesti has thrown his hat into the ring for the Cadillac seat by saying he is in talks with them over a 2026 move.

The Danish driver currently races for the American brand in IMSA but with General Motors joining the F1 grid next season, Vesti has hopes of being one of their two drivers.

Mercedes driver Frederik Vesti enters race for Cadillac F1 seat

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

Cadillac’s arrival into the sport was confirmed in March, meaning two new seats open up in the hotly contested race to be an F1 driver.

As of yet, General Motors have kept their cards close to their chest over who they are pursuing but Vesti has now emerged as a contender by stating he was in talks with the American brand.

“We’re working hard on all possibilities,” he told PlanetF1.com when asked if he had already had any discussions with the team over a future race seat.

“We’re talking to a few teams and we are working hard on trying to find the seats.”

Vesti is not the only driver linked to the seat with Sergio Perez also being suggested for a possible move.

On the topic of drivers, Cadillac team principal Graeme Lowdon said they had spoken to “seven or eight drivers” but that all talks for now are preliminary.

“We are either planning, or have spoken to, seven or eight drivers,” he told Speed City Broadcasting.

“It would be no surprise that anybody who has got recent Formula 1 experience would be included in that list.

“Any discussions are very preliminary. We are trying to get to know what people’s interest levels are, what their motivations are.

“We are certainly not in advanced discussion with any driver.”

“It was a big disadvantage that we couldn’t take part in the last round of the driver market,” Lowdon said.

“It wasn’t fair for us to do when we didn’t have a confirmed entry.”

Lowdon also suggested Cadillac were on the backfoot given they were unable to negotiate before they knew they had a spot.

“We could meet with drivers and talk to them. But without our entry confirmed, we couldn’t play in that marketplace,” he said.

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“So that was a big disadvantage. A lot of teams concluded arrangements then which span the new regulations in 2026.

“The upside is that there is a bunch of extremely good drivers who are hungry to be in F1, or to be back in F1.

“So there is no shortage in potential applicants.

“Since the entry has been confirmed, my phone has been reasonably busy.

“But we are at fairly early stages. Drivers are a key part of the team. This is a sport and in F1, the drivers are the heroes.

“It’s important to spend time with potential drivers for the team, and find out what their motivation is.

“I would stress that we are at very early stages, at the moment.”

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