Juan Pablo Montoya’s picks for Cadillac F1 driver line-up

Juan Pablo Montoya says Sergio Perez and Zhou Guanyu will be the best fit for Cadillac on its arrival to Formula 1 in 2026.

F1 will see an 11th team on the grid next year, with General Motors having received approval to enter the series with its luxury brand, Cadillac.

The American manufacturer will initially take on customer engines from Ferrari, but will become a full-fledged works team in 2029 when it debuts its in-house power units.

There has been plenty of interest in the drivers Cadillac will sign for its F1 entry, with several names having already been linked to the squad.

Seven-time grand prix winner Montoya thinks Perez is the most obvious bet for the team, given his extensive experience in F1 with both midfield and frontrunning squads.

However, for him, an unconventional second candidate is Zhou, who has been appointed as a reserve driver by Ferrari this year after being dropped from Sauber’s race line-up.

“I think Sergio Perez would be a great fit for Cadillac, and I bet you money the next guy might be Zhou Guanyu,” Montoya told Instant Casino.

“They would be a perfect fit. Guanyu is the Ferrari reserve. So, he’ll be driving, developing and working. He’ll know everything about Ferrari, and they’re going with a Ferrari engine.

“So, if you look at it from that point of view, it would make sense.”

Cadillac’s entry raises the enticing prospect of an American driver racing for an American team in a championship that is keen on expanding its footprint in the US.

However, Cadillac advisor Mario Andretti recently conceded that there is no guarantee his team will be able to sign an American driver as early as next year, citing several hurdles such as super licence points.

Montoya doesn’t think an American driver like Colton Herta would be able to succeed in F1, despite his strong credentials in IndyCar and experience of competing in junior championships in Europe.

“People say Cadillac should get an American. I think it would be crazy if Colton Herta decided to come to F1,” said Montoya, a two-time Indy 500 winner.

“I don’t think it would be as easy as he thinks.

“For speed, I think Herta has enough speed and be good enough speed-wise to do it. But understanding going from IndyCar to this is such a different change.

“The shock alone of moving to Europe and a different culture would be so big that I think it would screw with his head. If he did do it, the chances of surviving and prospering in it would be very slim.”