Sergio Perez pushed ‘incredible’ driver off the top of Cadillac’s shortlist after ‘flawless’ meeting

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Cadillac announced towards the end of the summer break that Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas would be their maiden driver pairing for the 2026 Formula 1 season.

There are just six months until Cadillac make their Formula 1 debut at the Australian Grand Prix, and a myriad of tasks they still need to complete.

Team principal Graeme Lowdon and CEO Dan Towriss are confident that Cadillac will be ready to take part in a prolonged pre-season at the end of January.

For this reason, Cadillac needed the most experienced drivers available, which makes Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez the obvious choices.

Only seven drivers have started more races than Perez, while Bottas will enter the top 10 if he completes the 2026 season with his new team.

Cadillac explored a lot of options before finally settling on Bottas and Perez as their driver pairing.

Colton Herta has joined Cadillac as a test driver with a view to becoming their first American F1 driver.

However, it’s now emerged that another young driver was at the top of Cadillac’s shortlist before Perez won the team over.

READ MORE: Best moments of Sergio Perez’s F1 career including first pole, podium, win and more

Felipe Drugovich ‘came closest’ to joining Cadillac before Sergio Perez meeting

Towriss appeared on Sky Sports F1 during the Italian Grand Prix to talk about Cadillac before their debut next season.

Perez won Towriss over in a meeting before Cadillac announced their drivers, which saw the American outfit move away from hiring a younger driver alongside Bottas.

Journalist Julianne Cerasoli was in the paddock in Monza and did some investigative work to find out what happened behind the scenes at Cadillac.

She shared on X that Aston Martin reserve driver Felipe Drugovich was perilously close to a full Formula 1 debut and explained: “How did Drugovich get passed over at Cadillac?

“CEO Dan Towriss told Sky Sports that a ‘flawless’ meeting with Perez changed the course of their decision and showed how experience could make a difference.

“‘Probably before that, we were considering a younger driver.’

“From what I’ve heard in the paddock over the last few months, the young driver who came closest to getting the seat was Felipe.

“These things are always a matter of detail.”

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

Are Felipe Drugovich’s chances of becoming a Formula 1 driver over after Cadillac snub

Drugovich was one of four drivers Cadillac overlooked before confirming Perez and Bottas as their drivers for next year.

The Brazilian is a Formula 2 champion and has been working for Aston Martin as their reserve driver for the past few seasons.

Fernando Alonso backed the ‘incredible’ Drugovich for a role at Cadillac, but the Spaniard couldn’t have the same influence over the 25-year-old’s career as he did with Sauber rookie Gabriel Bortoleto.

Drugovich suggested he was the ‘best’ third driver on the grid earlier this year, which could be seen as a slight dig at Bottas in his role at Mercedes.

Unless Aston Martin decide to part ways with Alonso, or Lance Stroll, and promote Drugovich, his chances of becoming a Formula 1 driver now appear to be over.

It may never be known just how close Drugovich was to confirming his seat alongside Bottas at Cadillac, but it shows how highly he’s rated that Towriss and Lowdon considered him above every other youngster trying to break onto the F1 grid.