Cadillac F1 boss Graeme Lowdon says the team will only select an American driver “on merit” after narrowing down a shortlist ahead of their debut season in 2026.

The General Motors-backed entry will join the grid next year as an 11th F1 team but they are yet to decide on their driver line-up.

Lowdon, who will be team principal, revealed Cadillac have a “fairly good idea” as to who they want to sign.

“We’ve narrowed it down quite a bit. But we’re out of sync with the rest of the teams at the moment,” he told Sky Sports F1.

“We were effectively kept out of the last round of driver discussions because we didn’t have an entry so we’re in a slightly unusual position. But it also means there’s a lot less competitive tension and we can take a little bit of time.

“Quite obviously, the number one priority for us as a team is to have something for the driver to drive and that is where a lot of the management bandwidth is focused.”

Sergio Perez is expected to be one of the candidates to drive for the team after he was dropped from Red Bull at the end of last season and is having a year out.

Likewise, Valtteri Bottas is a reserve driver for Mercedes after his dismissal from Sauber. Both drivers would provide Cadillac experience, which is important for a new team.

Given a major factor behind the team’s admission to the sport is their perceived ability to grow F1’s popularity in the United States, it is widely expected that they will sign at least one American driver for their debut campaign.

IndyCar star Colton Herta was linked to an F1 seat three years ago and would be the most obvious American driver to join Cadillac. However, Lowdon was keen to stress drivers will not be chosen on nationality.

“I think everyone would love to see an American driver in an American team with an American engine at some stage,” he said.

“But, also, this is a world championship, we have to select everyone on merit and, as we’ve said before, there’s nothing stopping a girl or boy with an American passport driving for an American Formula 1 team.

“We will select on merit. If the driver happens to be an American, then I think it’s something the fans would really like, but this is a world championship, we’ve got to respect it, and we want to be as competitive as we can. So we choose everyone in the team on merit.”

Are Cadillac in a race against time to be ready for 2026?

Car giant General Motors and US group TWG Global have formed the Cadillac entry and TWG Motorsport chief executive Dan Towriss said it will be a “challenge” to be ready for the 2026 season, which is set to begin with pre-season testing at the end of January.

Lowdon said “a race against time sounds dramatic” even though the team are also building a new US manufacturing base in Indiana, meaning work will have to be done elsewhere.

“As everybody knows, they’ll be tuning into the first Grand Prix next year and we have to be there. We can’t turn up a week later and do the race behind everyone else,” said Lowdon.

“So we have a deadline. Teams have a countdown clock in every garage that I’m aware of on the TV monitors and it shows when the start of the session is happening, and we’ve got those in every room of our multiple factories at the moment counting down to the first Grand Prix of 2026.

“So there’s a few days on there and it’s to remind everyone that time tends to accelerate when you’re when you’re up against a solid object. So it’s just there to remind everyone, and it’s a good thing as well. We’re in the game; we’re not racing on the track yet but we’re racing in the factory.”

F1’s European season begins with the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on May 16-18, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime