Cadillac boss explains why Daniel Ricciardo is the ‘wrong person’ to sign for the 2026 Formula 1 season

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Cadillac team principal Graeme Lowdon has a huge decision to make very shortly.

In less than 250 days, Cadillac will make their Formula 1 debut at the 2026 Australian Grand Prix.

Graeme Lowdon is hard at work building a team at Cadillac capable of being competitive during their debut campaign.

Cadillac have secured Ferrari power units until General Motors are ready to enter the sport, but there are still two key personnel that they’re yet to hire.

The F1 driver market is incredibly difficult to navigate, especially for new teams.

Many drivers signed multi-year deals last season, leaving Cadillac unlikely to be able to snatch a current star on the grid from their team.

However, several drivers who lost their seats have put themselves forward as options to Cadillac.

Valtteri Bottas is interested in racing for Cadillac, although he’s also of interest to Alpine, who are unsure about Franco Colapinto’s future.

Cadillac could also move for Sergio Perez, but Lowdon has now explained why Australian legend Daniel Ricciardo isn’t being considered for an F1 comeback.

READ MORE: Daniel Ricciardo’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Graeme Lowdon explains why Daniel Ricciardo is the ‘wrong person’ for Cadillac F1

Lowdon had a few names thrown at him on the High Performance Podcast by Jake Humphrey ahead of announcing Cadillac’s first F1 driver line-up.

Nothing has been confirmed yet, although Cadillac have representatives at the British Grand Prix talking to prospective parties.

One of the drivers posed by Humphrey was Ricciardo, and Lowdon said: “Yeah, actually, I think he’s publicly said that he’s not interested in Formula 1, I think.”

Humphrey then asked: “Would you want to convince him otherwise?” to which Lowdon replied: “It’s not my job to.

“If I need to convince someone, then it’s the wrong person.

“You never need to convince a Formula 1 driver to jump in the car. I’ve got no problem, everyone can make their own mind up.”

READ MORE: All to know about General Motors’ Cadillac F1 team from engine to drivers

Cadillac yet to narrow down their 2026 Formula 1 driver search

Lowdon goes on to say in his interview that Cadillac have narrowed down their driver shortlist to ‘six to 10 drivers,’ but they won’t want to wait too much longer to make a decision.

Yuki Tsunoda could be offered an F1 lifeline by Cadillac as he becomes the latest driver to struggle in Red Bull’s second car.

Cadillac could offer Zhou Guanyu a role in the team, while it’s known that Lowdon’s team is a big fan of Felipe Drugovich.

What is currently evident is that Cadillac aren’t completely sure whether they want two experienced drivers or a younger racer to complement a more experienced head.

Ricciardo certainly has experience, and of the candidates currently on Cadillac’s shortlist, only Bottas has won more races.

However, he’s stepped away from racing completely since being dropped by RB at last year’s Singapore Grand Prix.

If he were to make himself available to Cadillac, that could end up working against him.