Cadillac overlooked signing their own Max Verstappen for Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas for one reason

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Cadillac have finally announced their debut driver line-up after signing Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas on multi-year contracts ahead of the team’s debut in F1 in 2026.

Team principal Graeme Lowdon and Dan Towriss, the chief executive of the TWG Group that oversees the General Motors brand’s entry, had been locked in talks with multiple drivers for months. But Cadillac confirmed this Tuesday that Bottas and Perez will now lead their debut.

Cadillac have elected to lock Bottas and Perez down as their line-up for the 2026 F1 grid and beyond to sign two of the most decorated drivers on the market. The Finn and Mexican have 527 Grand Prix starts, as well as 16 wins, 23 pole positions and 106 podiums, between them.

Bottas took all 10 of his Grand Prix wins with Mercedes between 2017 and 2021. But the 35-year-old has spent the 2025 F1 season back in Brackley as a reserve driver after Audi opted against giving him a new contract at Sauber. Perez has also spent his year on the sidelines.

Cadillac rejected Josef Newgarden, as Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas have F1 experience

Cadillac rejected several drivers to sign Bottas and Perez, including Mick Schumacher, Felipe Drugovich and Zhou Guanyu. The GM crew also snubbed F2 gem Jak Crawford and IndyCar star Colton Herta, who would have offered Cadillac an American driver in an American team.

READ MORE: All to know about General Motors’ Cadillac F1 Team from engine to factory

But Crawford and Herta are not currently eligible for an FIA Superlicence, which is needed to race in F1. Yet Cadillac could still have signed an American driver from IndyCar to guide their F1 debut, as BBC Sport reports that Team Penske ace Josef Newgarden was on their radar.

Unlike Herta, Newgarden is one of the five current IndyCar drivers who are eligible for an FIA Superlicence to race in F1 with Alex Palou, Scott McLaughlin, Will Power and Scott Dixon. So, Palou has emerged as an option for Red Bull now, while they weigh up Yuki Tsunoda’s future.

But Cadillac have overlooked Newgarden – who could have been their own Max Verstappen – to sign Bottas and Perez, as Towriss decided the team should prioritise F1 experience over an American driver. Newgarden has raced in IndyCar since 2012, but has never driven in F1.

Towriss said: “What it comes down to is experience in F1 that carried the day. Despite the experience on the team, everybody is new and working together for the first time.

“It is important to us to make sure there is a pathway for an American driver into F1. But for this inaugural season, this was the right combination.”

IndyCar star Josef Newgarden could have been Cadillac F1 Team’s own Max Verstappen

James Hinchliffe would have loved Cadillac to sign Newgarden, who he claims is “similar” to Verstappen in how they both have the “mental capacity” to understand everything going on around them while pushing flat-out. Hinchliffe also feels Newgarden’s racecraft may suit F1.

Alas, Newgarden might never enjoy an F1 move after Cadillac overlooked him to sign Bottas and Perez as their maiden driver line-up for 2026. The American is already 34, and he turns 35 on December 22, so he will likely have to accept racing in IndyCar and endurance series.

Nashville, Tennessee native Newgarden was once on the ladder toward F1 when he raced in the 2009 British Formula Ford Championship and the GP3 Series in 2010. But he switched to IndyCar’s feeder series in 2011, then known as Indy Lights, and he won the title as a rookie.

Newgarden has since added IndyCar titles in 2017 and 2019 to his CV, as well as winning the Indianapolis 500 in 2023 and 2024. He has also made occasional appearances in the IMSA SportsCar Championship, including winning the 2024 Daytona 24 Hours for Porsche Penske.