15/08/2025 19:10
Cadillac's arrival on the F1 grid for the 2026 season has been long
coming and is highly anticipated, with the championship returning
to 11 teams for the first time in a decade. The American outfit is
the sole survivor of the FIA's tender process and had to overcome
substantial hurdles to ultimately attain the required approval from
Formula 1. Significant changes and comprehensive restructuring of
its application were needed for the series to green-light the
General Motors-backed project, and whilst progress is being rapidly
made ahead of its debut campaign, numerous tasks remain, such as
finalising its driver line-up. Unsurprisingly, there is
considerable intrigue surrounding the fledgling squad. One such
person is 1997 F1 drivers' champion Jacques Villeneuve, who helped
launch an American team during his own career. The Canadian joined
BAR (British-American Racing), which had purchased the old Tyrrell
outfit and is now Mercedes, from Williams at the start of the 1999
season, so he is watching developments with a keen eye. Sharing his
thoughts, as part of an exclusive interview with RacingNews365 ,
Villeneuve highlighted some of the major questions the project must
ask of itself over the coming months. "Who knows what's going on
there," the 11-time grand prix winner mused. "It's not the same
team as a year ago. "The whole project has changed, and the way it
came in, forcefully, is not the best way either, but at least now
they're in, fine. "The question is, what will they do? What drivers
will they choose? Who do they put in place?" The driver conundrum
Whilst hopes will not be sky high to begin with, given the
financial weight and not-insignificant backing from owners' GM and
TWG Global, it will not be long before Cadillac will be expected to
perform. Villeneuve highlighted how new teams can succeed. The
54-year-old pointed to the renaissance season Stake is enjoying on
the eve of becoming the works Audi team. "When you look at what
Sauber has done, with Audi coming in, [with] Jonathan Wheatley, you
already see the results now, even though it's the same car," he
stated. "Just the way the energy, the working... So you can expect
great things there." However, much of Cadillac's story remains to
be established, with Villeneuve also highlighting that much will
depend on the performance of the Ferrari power unit, which the team
will use for at least its first three seasons, despite its
long-term aspirations to, like Audi, become a manufacturer. "We
don't know with Cadillac yet," he added. "They say they want
experienced drivers, right? But you want good, experienced
drivers... "The other thing, we have no idea which engine will be
good, that's a big... Well, okay, we'll find out." Cadillac were
expected to have confirmed at least half of its driver line-up by
this stage, but it remains to be seen whether the team will opt for
two experienced hands or aim for balance in a blend with youth. It
remains unclear which young talents are currently best-positioned
to claim one of the seats if it does pursue that avenue, but on the
experienced side of the equation, Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas
look the most likely candidates - even more so if Cadillac decides
to forgo a young driver with potential. Either way, Villeneuve
believes the American squad will need to stump up if it wants to
secure a "pure racer", as he calls them. The Canadian explained how
he believes that less and less there are drivers in F1 who have a
genuine, deep-rooted passion for racing, and that more and more,
there are those who are enamoured with what racing represents. When
it was put to him that it might, therefore, be difficult for
Cadillac to find a driver of that ilk, Villeneuve argued it was all
about money. "Depends on how much money they put on the table," he
said. "Because you want to get one of those drivers [a pure racer],
you're a new team, you need to put [down] a big cheque. "But with
the value of F1 now, the big cheque is nothing. It's peanuts
compared to what it used to be."
