Felipe Drugovich takes cheeky dig at Valtteri Bottas in race to sign for Cadillac F1 in 2026, ‘the only guy…’

Follow us on Google Discover

The race is on to join the 11th team on the grid next season when Cadillac make their Formula 1 debut.

There are plenty of drivers hoping to convince Cadillac team principal Graeme Lowdon that they’re the right people to lead the team in 2026.

Cadillac will make their Formula 1 debut at the 2026 Australian Grand Prix, which is only eight months away.

The General Motors-backed team are fully concentrating on getting their car ready for pre-season testing, but will soon need to bring in two drivers to help guide their development.

F1’s extended pre-season testing might make life more difficult for Cadillac, as it means they need to get their car ready even earlier.

However, when it finally takes to the track, many people believe Valtteri Bottas has a strong chance of racing for the team.

There are suggestions that Bottas has agreed terms with Cadillac, but not signed a contract yet, but Aston Martin reserve driver Felipe Drugovich has just made his case that he’s the man they should be looking at for next season.

READ MORE: Valtteri Bottas’ life outside F1 from girlfriend to wine and gin

Felipe Drugovich says he’s the ‘best third driver’ in Formula 1 amid Cadillac’s interest in Valtteri Bottas

Drugovich has been linked with Cadillac and was asked in an interview with UOL what he would bring to a Formula 1 team if signed for next season, and he said: “I think I’m the best driver, the best third driver there is at the moment, with the most kilometers driven, the Formula 2 championship, victories, and experience in other categories as well.

“I think I’m the only guy who’s never crashed a Formula 1 car, the only one I’ve raced in Formula 2 who’s never crashed a Formula 2 car. I know categories that will influence next year’s experience as well.

“Next year will be very much about the engine, about battery and energy savings, and that’s basically all the experience I have from Hypercar and Formula E as well.

“I’m the only driver in the paddock here to have driven on the 2026 tires, and I’ll be driving again now [ahead of another Pirelli tyre test].”

READ MORE: All you need to know about Felipe Drugovich from age to racing stats

Who are the best third drivers in Formula 1 amid Felipe Drugovich’s ‘only driver’ claim?

Almost every team on the grid has at least one reserve driver to call upon when required, except for Sauber, which have loaned Paul Aron from Alpine to carry out their FP1 sessions.

Ferrari have two former F1 drivers to call upon if required in Antonio Giovinazzi and Zhou Guanyu, and Zhou has also been linked with Cadillac.

It’s a bold claim from Drugovich to suggest that he’s a better driver than Bottas, although he does make some interesting points about his experience with the electrical battery aspect of the new power units.

Drugovich was virtually as quick as Lance Stroll when testing the 2026 Pirelli tyres, setting a fastest time within two-hundredths of the Canadian driver, as per Pirelli.

Elsewhere on the grid, Jack Doohan and Paul Aron are waiting in the wings at Alpine, Ryo Hirakawa has driven for the Anglo-French team and Haas this season, and Alex Dunne starred for McLaren at the Austrian Grand Prix.

Red Bull and Racing Bulls would call upon either Ayumu Iwasa or the highly-rated teenager Arvid Lindblad, while Williams have tested both Luke Browning and Victor Martins amid their Formula 2 campaigns.

Drugovich may not be the most experienced racer, having spent the past three seasons sitting on the sidelines at Aston Martin waiting for his chance.

However, he’s incredibly talented, although this Cadillac opportunity feels like his final chance to break into Formula 1.