Formula 1's newest team began its quest to expand the grid with a plan to become a true American team that featured a driver representing the red, white and blue.
Yet when Cadillac F1 finally unveiled its inaugural lineup it was Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Pérez, drivers from Finland and Mexico, respectively.
Michael Andretti started this project in 2021 with plans to put IndyCar driver Colton Herta of California in the seat: American driver, American team, American car and an American engine. But Andretti was bought out by Dan Towriss of TWG Global, and TWG Motorsports owns this team.
Towriss said in May at the Miami Grand Prix there remains a desire to get an American driver in one of the seats, but only when one is ready. Herta doesn't have the super license required to compete in F1, Towriss noted, and a new team learning a new car requires experienced and steady drivers.
Few believe Cadillac will be competitive out of the gate, so it was necessary to go with drivers willing to set their egos aside for the sake of building a program. Bottas and Pérez don't have seats this year, and both said they were willing to sacrifice wins and even points to be part of a project as monumental as what Cadillac is trying to do in expanding the F1 grid to an 11th team next year.
“The more I was talking to the Cadillac team, the more it became apparent that this is what excites me,” Pérez said. “It's not going back to the grid with a regular team to fight for wins and podiums, it's a project itself.”
Bottas was not a subtle suitor and even made a social media video two months ago captioned “Do we like this seat?” and gave a tour of a Cadillac. Shortly before the announcement dropped Tuesday, he posted an image of himself in a tuxedo, on a surfboard, waving an American flag and carrying a green can. It wasn't AI, either: behind the scenes footage showed the surfboard being towed by a small craft, Bottas once even losing his balance and falling into the water.
“We don't need to prove anything to anyone, so we get to put team first,” said Bottas. “That's what we're here for and that's probably one of the biggest reasons why we were the chosen ones. We're competitors, we're going to drive as fast as we can. We want to perform the best we can. But we have very clear priorities on this project.”
The American dream
Cadillac F1 does hope to have a driver from the United States as part of its lineup, but who knows how long it could take.
Herta has been trying to earn enough points in IndyCar to secure the super license, but four seasons have passed since this began and he still doesn't have one. Now there's speculation Towriss may move him to F2, an idea Herta and Towriss both declined to address.
“Oh boy, I don’t really have any comments for any of that stuff, to be honest,” Herta told AP.
Herta, who turns 26 early next year, began the IndyCar season saying he wasn't even sure he wanted to go to F1 because he loved his IndyCar team so much. Now he won't even talk about it, so perhaps there's still a desire to eventually get him on the F1 grid.
Either way, Cadillac team principal Graeme Lowdon said the team plans to field cars in F1's feeder series' eventually, as well as a young driver program. Towriss already supports Sebastian and Oliver Wheldon, the young sons of the late Andretti driver, Dan Wheldon.
Don't rule out the possibility of Sebastian Wheldon, a Floridian who turns 17 next year and currently races internationally.
But, all parties insisted, there is no rush, only an awareness that there is hope Cadillac will some day field an American driver.
“We know from feedback from fans that fans would love to see an American driver in an American team with an American engine, as well,” Lowdon said. “These things are all things that could well happen. I see no barrier to seeing that combination in the future.”
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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
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