Mario Andretti confirms: Sergio Perez "is an option" for Cadillac

Among the contenders for a Cadillac seat in 2026, Sergio Pérez appears to be the favorite. This status is reinforced by Mario Andretti's latest statements regarding the Mexican driver.

Published 30/03/2025 à 14:28

Dorian Grangier

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Mario Andretti confirms: Sergio Perez "is an option" for Cadillac

© Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

He may have been away from the circuits for several months and his eviction from Red Bull At the end of 2024, Sergio Pérez continues to make the news in Formula 1. Indirect beneficiary of the turmoil within his former team, with the replacement of Liam Lawson by Yuki tsunoda With only two Grand Prix, the Mexican is regaining his credibility without doing anything. And this could open the doors to F1 again for him in the coming months. If the six-time Grand Prix winner assured that he would make a decision "within six months", he is more than ever the favorite for a return to the discipline in 2026, with the new Cadillac team.

Indeed, Mario Andretti – who sits on the board of directors of the new American team – confirmed that the signing of Sergio Pérez, 35, was a possibility for Cadillac. "It's an option, declared the 1978 world champion to the Spanish-language edition of ESPN. It could be an option. Absolutely. (…) I wish I could tell you, but it's something we're keeping secret because we don't want to give hope in certain areas where it might not happen."

Cadillac should choose "between three pilots"

Cadillac, which will become the eleventh team on the F1 grid in 2026, had confided that it had "half a dozen" candidates potential candidates to fill these two new seats, through its Team Principal, Graeme Lowdon. Among them are names like those of Guanyu-Zhou, Colton Herta or even Valtteri BottasThe Detroit firm would like to rely on an experienced driver and an American presence to begin its adventure in Formula 1. Sergio Pérez could therefore be the ideal candidate for Cadillac... especially since Mario Andretti admitted that there was no "not many options" regarding American pilots.

"The second seat will certainly be occupied by an experienced driver who might be available. And we all know that the selection in this regard is quite clear., explained the former Formula 1 driver. It's realistic to think there will be a selection between three drivers. And I'm not going to tell you which ones. We think a lot and I don't have the final say, but I will have some influence. Again, I'm not the only boss, so I don't make the final decision." Earlier this year, Graeme Lowdon had stated that the nationality of his future drivers would not be an issue, preferring to talk about meritocracy to get a seat at Cadillac. The British executive had also confided that Cadillac " does not [set] a deadline for announcing the drivers. Patience, then.

ALSO READ > Cadillac, Verstappen… What could the Formula 1 grid look like in 2026?

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Dorian Grangier

A young journalist nostalgic for the motorsport of yesteryear. Raised on the exploits of Sébastien Loeb and Fernando Alonso.

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1 Comment (s)

Yves-Henri RANDIER

31/03/2025 at 12:54 a.m.

That's it, Donald Orange has succeeded in making Mexico the 52nd state because Perez is now considered American. It's not certain that the occupant of the Oval Office would accept a Mexican driving a Caddy in F1! But maybe he doesn't know that F1 exists, he who made a brief appearance at the last Daytona 500 because of Trump supporters!

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