Five American drivers who could join Sergio Perez at Cadillac

Former IndyCar driver turned F1 pundit James Hinchcliffe has named five “American” drivers who he believes could join Sergio Perez at Cadillac when the American team joins the grid next season.

Cadillac, F1’s new 11th team, has yet to officially confirm either of its two drivers for next season as team principal Graeme Lowdon whittles down his long short-list.

Cadillac F1 expected to confirm Sergio Perez for F1 2026 season

One driver, though, has been decided as PlanetF1.com learned.

Multiple sources have told PlanetF1.com that former Red Bull driver Perez has reached an agreement that will see him return to the grid, with an announcement expected in early September during the Italian Grand Prix weekend.

The focus now turns to his team-mate.

Several former F1 drivers are said to be in the running, including Valtteri Bottas, Zhou Guanyu and Mick Schumacher.

PlanetF1.com understands Jack Doohan is also a candidate with his father Mick Doohan speaking with Lowdon over the British Grand Prix weekend. That followed on from the Monaco Grand Prix, where the pair were spotted in deep discussion.

But according to Hinchcliffe, Cadillac also has American options if its open to putting on a rookie on the grid in its debut campaign.

“Kyle Kirkwood,” he wrote in an opinion piece for the official F1 website, “is, in a lot of ways, an obvious pick, yet his name is rarely mentioned when it comes to the shortlist of possibilities Cadillac might consider.

“While he had taken a few wins in IndyCar before 2025, the Floridian has reached a new level of speed and consistency this season and is the only driver who has been able to regularly top championship runaway Alex Palou.

“Which, paired with his calm and focused demeanour, could be a recipe for success at open-wheel’s highest level.”

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There’s also F2 racer Jak Crawford, an Aston Martin junior, who “if he can continue the winning ways and find himself in the top three at season’s end, that would put him in a great position to be considered for the ultimate promotion.”

Connor Zilisch, a NASCAR XFinity driver who now races, was also highly rated by Hinchcliffe, who said: “He seems to be one of the most adaptable drivers that I’ve ever seen.

“Watching what he’s done so far gives me the feeling that if he was given a proper programme in an open wheel car, and a season or two of F2 to cut his teeth, he could be F1-worthy in short order.

“And he has the time, because despite the impressive CV he is still only 19 years old.”

However, if Cadillac wanted a more experienced driver, New Zealand-bord Scott McLaughlin would be Hinchcliffe’s pick.

“The three-time V-8 Supercars champ. Bathurst 1000 winner. Multiple-time IndyCar race winner and Indy 500 pole sitter. And I know what you’re thinking: he’s from New Zealand.

While that is true, you might not know that McLaughlin is now also a naturalized US citizen. So if Cadillac wanted to look at a loophole on the whole ‘American Driver’ thing, this could be it.

“He’s made a monumental transition before, and while a switch to F1 would be a big one, his experience doing it once would serve him well should the opportunity present itself again.”

His final pick was Alex Palou. Although not American, the former McLaren candidate may have lost his chance with the Woking team when he drew them into a legal battle with Chip Ganassi over his services, but Hinchcliffe believes he has the title for F1.

“Three titles in the last four years had already shown that he was special,” said Hinchcliffe.

“But what he is doing this season is honestly tough to describe. He has somehow gotten even better at… everything.

“We’ve seen him in F1 machinery, and the subsequent (and ongoing) battle for his services should tell you all you need to know.

“He claims his focus is now 100 per cent with IndyCar, but you can’t help but wonder if winning in IndyCar at this rate will get tiresome and a new challenge could tempt him away…”

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