Cadillac looking to win the race to sign Perez for F1 2026

Mexican is in the frame at Cadillac but is also in talks with other teams about 2026 F1 drive

Sergio Perez is currently in talks over a three-year contract with the Cadillac Formula 1 squad but also has other options, Motorsport.com understands.

The six-time grand prix winner has been without an F1 drive since leaving Red Bull at the end of 2024, having endured a difficult campaign, finishing 285 points behind team-mate and world champion Max Verstappen.

Perez previously said he wanted to give himself “at least six months to get all my options on the table” and one of those appears to be Cadillac, which is set to make its F1 debut in 2026.

The American outfit is understood to be facing competition from at least two other teams for the Mexican's signature, but that depends upon driver movements.

Should Cadillac sign Perez, then it would be bringing somebody with 281 grand prix starts and team boss Graeme Lowdown has previously mentioned that such experience could be key.

“Luckily for us, there are a lot of good drivers out there, unfortunately, we've not been able to be in the driver market until the entry was confirmed,” he said in March.

“It's important for us to talk to a number of potential candidates. Do we see very talented drivers who currently aren't on the grid? Yes, we do.

“We are going to be quite busy talking to a few people, my phone's certainly been busy. What's a little bit difficult because of the situation that we're in as a new team, the timeline isn't as laid out as it normally is. It's normally quite clear for all of us involved in the driver negotiations.

“But there are easily half a dozen, if not more candidates out there who offer extremely good credentials to be in Formula 1 or to be in Formula 1 again.”

The news comes ahead of this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix, where Cadillac will be hosting a launch party in the Florida city on Saturday evening.

Graeme Lowdon, Cadillac F1 team principal

Photo by: Cadillac Communications

It is understood that Perez will make a decision on his future this month and, should he choose Cadillac, then who his team-mate could be is still up in the air with the squad looking at numerous options.

Considering it’s an American marque, then a driver from the States has been touted but, when Lowdon was asked about that at the Bahrain GP in April, he remained coy - hinting it may not happen from year one.

“We'll select drivers on merit,” he said. “Having a driver on merit doesn't mean you can't have an American passport as well. We've got a lot to choose from.

“But also, you can't just judge an F1 team on what they're doing this year or next year.

“The team's here to stay. I think the fans would love to see an American driver in an American team. There's nothing stopping that from happening, but we've just got to go ahead and select on merit and build a team, because there are a few very experienced drivers available.

“We weren't able to participate in the last round of driver negotiations, so we're out of sync with a lot of other teams. But there's some advantages to that as well. There's a lot of very good drivers available at the minute.

“As and when we put the driver line-up together, whatever it is, it'll be a strong one.”