Colton Herta, a bad choice for Cadillac F1?

Exactly one year before his arrival in Formula 1, Cadillac is beginning to refine the outlines of its future stable. The American manufacturer has already found an engine manufacturer – Ferrari - and a team leader – Graeme Lowdon, But there remains the thorny question of drivers. Time is not pressing for Cadillac, which still has a few months to think about it, but the market opportunities will not necessarily be legion.

After a very turbulent 2024 on the transfer market with eight out of ten teams changing at least one driver, the 2025 season should be calmer, at least within the top teams. Cadillac could then be tempted to look elsewhere than on the current grid, especially since the manufacturer associated with Andretti attaches great importance to having an American driver in its team.

That narrows the list of candidates to a handful of names, including academy member Jak Crawford. Aston Martin, engaged in Formula 2 with DAMS for a third season, and Colton Herta, 2nd inIndyCar in 2024 with … Andretti. The 24-year-old driver had already been linked to Formula 1 at the end of 2022 where his name had come up insistently on the side ofAlpha Tauri, before Faenza finally opted for Nyck de VriesThe American could have a second chance with a team he knows well. But his name does not excite everyone, notably Gary Anderson, former technical director of Jordan and Jaguar.

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If Colton Herta wasn't ready, Gary Anderson suggests the return of a former F1 player

"I think as an American team they'll want an American driver. Who that will be, I don't know, but there's a lot of talk about Colton Herta." notes the Northern Irishman PlanetF1. “He’s definitely a fast IndyCar driver, but I’ll reserve judgment. For me, he makes too many mistakes. He’s certainly fast in IndyCar, but I don’t know if he has the speed and the mental capacity to make the jump to Formula 1. Formula 1 is a very complicated formula. So I’m not sure I see an American driver right now who has the potential to come to F1 and be competitive. And that’s the most important thing, the need to be competitive. But like I said, they have a year to evaluate that.”

Kevin Magnussen and Sergio Perez will be candidates for Cadillac seats in 2026. @DPPI

If Colton Herta is not really ready to start in Formula 1, Cadillac could choose to turn to former drivers of the premier class. Daniel Ricciardo has already declined, but Sergio Perez, Valtteri Bottas or Kevin Magnussen could be tempted, even if the Dane is now engaged in WEC with BMW. For Gary Anderson, the former driver Haas ticks all the boxes to carry out the Cadillac project. "You have to choose competitive people who have experience and for me, Kevin Magnussen is a solid guy." assures the former F1 designer. "He drives well when he has the car to do the job. He's been around a long time." The phones of some drivers on the grid are also likely to ring in the coming months. Yuki tsunoda is coming to the end of his contract, for example, and is not expected to play a sixth season with Racing Bulls. For his part, Guanyu-Zhou could benefit from his links with Graem Lowdon, who is none other than his manager.

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