Guenther Steiner names the two F1 drivers he’d sign as Cadillac boss

Ex-Haas boss Guenther Steiner believes Cadillac should favour experience when choosing drivers for their debut F1 season in 2026.

Cadillac are joining the grid in 2026 as F1’s 11th team.

While team boss Graeme Lowdon, formerly of Manor, is heading their preparations for next year, they’ve yet to decide on their driver line-up.

With the rest of the grid effectively locking down their star drivers for next year already, Cadillac are not under any pressure to decide on who to sign as they face no competition from other teams.

Sergio Perez, Valtteri Bottas, Zhou Guanyu and Mick Schumacher are all thought to be options.

Perez was dropped by Red Bull at the end of 2024 following a difficult campaign.

Perez’s stock has only risen, though, due to Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda’s difficulties alongside Max Verstappen.

Bottas and Zhou are also available after failing to land a seat at Sauber.

The pair have remained active in the F1 paddock, taking up roles with Mercedes and Ferrari, respectively.

Schumacher is also keen on a return to F1 and has received support from Sebastian Vettel and Mick Schumacher.

Steiner chooses who he’d sign

Steiner has experience running a new F1 team, with Haas joining the grid in 2016.

Steiner remained team principal of Haas until the end of 2023, and most of his driver line ups were based on previous F1 experience.

Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen spent four years at Haas between 2017 and 2020.

However, when Haas were short of cash, Steiner turned to Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin.

After that, Steiner vowed not to sign two rookies again, ultimately replacing Schumacher with midfield veteran Nico Hulkenberg.

Speaking on F1 Explains, Steiner revealed he would opt for Perez and Bottas if he was Cadillac boss.

“If I were Cadillac, I would look to experienced drivers, the same reason I said before,” he said.

“In a young team, the best is to get experience in people who have done it, who help the team to get going, who help the team to make progress quicker than the rookies.

“For me, the ideal team would be Bottas and Sergio Perez. I would bring them two in.”