Cadillac has received the provisional go-ahead from Formula 1 to pursue its entry as the 11th team on the grid from the 2026 season.
The entry began life as Andretti Global, with the team receiving initial approval from the FIA following the tender process in 2023. Talks moved to F1’s Commercial Rights Holders to assess whether the entry would bring value to F1, but they quickly ruled that the Andretti name was not enough.
In a stunning u-turn, F1 has now approved Cadillac and General Motors taking over the Andretti operation after coming to an agreement “in principle” for a 2026 debut with the view of turning into a fully fledged constructor for 2028.
Karun Chandhok was surprised at how quickly F1 approved Cadillac, while fellow Sky Sports commentator Martin Brundle welcomed the news and highlighted the extra opportunities it poses for drivers on the grid.
Colton Herta has previously been highlighted as a potential talent, but the IndyCar star will not have the required super licence points if he does apply for 2026.
Speaking to NBC, team executive Mario Andretti believes there is space for more young talent: “There are more drivers available than teams at the moment.
READ MORE: All to know about General Motors’ Cadillac F1 team from engine to drivers
“Ten teams seems a lot, but there’s a lot more drivers, lot more talent out there. From our standpoint, I think the play at the beginning would be to have one experienced driver — nationality doesn’t matter — and then a young American talent. These are the objectives at the moment.”
With that in mind, which new young American talents could Cadillac employ alongside an experienced hand?
Ugo Ugochukwu
Although he is only currently 17 years old, Ugo Ugochukwu will be 18 years old by the time he needs to apply for a super licence.
The American is currently part of the McLaren Driver Development Programme and recently won the Macau Formula Regional Grand Prix street race, a marquee event that has previously been won by F1 greats such as Max Verstappen and Michael Schumacher.
He is likely to progress further up the junior formula rankings so it might be a bit early for a 2026 debut, but he is one to watch for any future American F1 project.
Jak Crawford
The American driver closest to having an F1 debut is current Aston Martin development driver Jak Crawford, having emerged as the most promising talent due to his impressive run in F2 this season.
Currently sitting fifth in the standings, having won the feature race at the Circuit de Catalunya Barcelona earlier in the year and achieved a couple of podiums.
Crawford completed his first F1 test with Aston Martin earlier this year, which impressed his team with how quicky he adapted to the car from the F2 car. The 18-year-old could potentially be on the radar for Cadillac if he impresses in another year of the F1 feeder series.
Max Esterson
Gamer turned racer Max Esterson has put together a solid enough season in F3 this year that he will be making the step up to F2 with Trident.
The 22-year-old started off his motorsport career on iRacing at just 11 years old and went into karting, before making the switch to single seaters in Formula Ford and latterly British championship GB3.
Esterson would be an outside choice out of the two other drivers highlighted, but the rookie has a marketable factor that would likely go down well in F1 having seen the same in NASCAR with William Byron.
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