Formula 1 will have 11 teams on the grid from 2026 with Cadillac forming the sport’s second current American team, offering two more race seats for drivers to chase

Graeme Lowdon is recruiting drivers for Cadillac’s first F1 season(Image: PA)

Cadillac look set to confirm Sergio Perez as their first Formula 1 driver signing. The new team, which will make its debut on the grid in 2026, has been on the lookout for experienced racers to help lead their charge on track during their maiden campaign.

Perez has been one of those consistently linked with the project. The Mexican has been without a place in F1 this season after he was axed by Red Bull last December, at the end of a poor season which saw him failed to make the podium in any of his last 19 races.

But his has been a name regularly mentioned in the driver market this year after making it clear he was keen on a return to the grid. Perez is an attractive option for teams, given his status as a six-time race winner and also because of the significant financial backing he has, most notably from Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim.

Perez, 35, has held talks with Alpine as the Enstone-based outfit tries to find the solution to its own driver problem. But he has been most strongly linked with Cadillac and now there seems to have been a breakthrough.

PlanetF1 reports Cadillac are set to announce the signing of Perez in the coming weeks. He is reportedly to be one of the two drivers fielded by the team next year, with the identity of the other yet to be confirmed.

But it is understood that Valtteri Bottas is the other front-runner for a return to the grid. The Finn is spending this year as a reserve driver at Mercedes and has also been linked with Alpine, but his preferred choice is believes to be the new project.

Speaking to Mirror Sport earlier this year, Bottas said: “The new team joining the sport is also exciting. I think Cadillac, what we’ve seen so far, looks a really cool and interesting project.

“As a driver, you can kind of start from scratch. Everything is new, so you can actually make a really big impact and, for me, that’s quite interesting. There’s been some [discussions]. But they are not in a rush and neither am I, really.”

Bottas also made it clear that he would prefer to continue to race in F1 if he gets the chance. But if he does fail to land a seat on the 2026 grid, the Finn revealed that a move across the pond could be on the cards.

He added: “F1 is the priority, but then I’ve got to have a plan B. And one solid option would be IndyCar – I’ve had some discussions, yeah. I think just over the years in this sport, I’ve learned you need to have a plan B. Until pen hits the paper here, nothing is confirmed and I saw it last year, how things went. So I’m not doing that mistake again.”