Mario Andretti makes honest admission about an American driver for Cadillac F1
F1 hasn’t had an American driver on the grid since Logan Sargeant was unceremoniously dropped by Williams in the middle of last year.
Mario Andretti says he cannot say with absolute certainty that an American driver will land a Formula 1 seat with Cadillac next year.
Getting an American on the F1 grid was always high on the agenda for Mario Andretti’s son Marco, who was initially trying to secure an entry into grand prix racing with his family-run operation.
Even after Cadillac took over the bid for an 11th team from the younger Andretti, signing an American driver remained a priority for the new management.
But Mario Andretti, who is involved in the Cadillac project as an advisor, says it is now possible that the team will have to consider both its drivers from outside the US.
Andretti explained that there are several hurdles that Cadillac needs to overcome to achieve its original 'objective', including finding a US driver with the neccesary super licence points to be eligible for an F1 seat.
“Times fluctuate and times change to some degree. From now to the start of the final plan, some things could change. That's why I am telling you we are keeping our options open,” the 1978 F1 champion told ESPN.
“Again, we would like to have at least one American driver, that is the objective. If it comes immediately that is good, if not we will always be looking for that.
“One of the reasons to have this belief is we started out by giving some American drivers the opportunity there.
“But still the team has the responsibility to try to put together the most competitive situation possible as far as the drivers are concerned, so that's a huge responsibility there as well.
“That's why Graham Lowdon is correct - we can't be saying [there] absolutely has to be an American driver. It's what we would like to see, it may happen or it may not.”
He added: “There is not too much choice in America because of licensing and everything else.”
Also read: Sergio Perez in frame for Cadillac F1 seat in 2026 after Red Bull axe
IndyCar star Colton Herta has always been the number one choice for Andretti father/son duo, with the 25-year-old having brought a lot of success to the Andretti Global team in IndyCar.
Last year, he finished second in the standings with two race wins, only bested by Chip Ganassi’s championship-winner Alex Palou.
Herta had an unusual career prior to achieving stardom in IndyCar, leaving his homeland early on to race on the junior racing ladder in Europe.
He climbed as high as the Euroformula Open in 2016, before returning to the US to race in Indy Lights and eventually IndyCar.
Herta currently has 32 points on his super licence and needs a top-five finish in the 2025 IndyCar season to meet the FIA’s requirement for a grand prix driver.
Asked if Herta is ready to step up to F1, Andretti said: ”I think so because you got to look at where and how he trained, and how good he was immediately when he came back to the States.
“Sometimes you cannot judge a driver in a specific season because of the functions of the team and so forth but basically he trained just like Lando Norris when he was going through Formula 3, Formula 2 and in the early stages of his career.
“As a teenager, he was living in Europe and the first really top-level racing was when he came to America.
“Obviously, Michael promoted him to the top level and he is still the youngest driver to win an IndyCar race at age 18.
“There are some qualities that a lot of people don't see that I see that I think are qualities of a Formula 1 driver and I see that in Colton.
“But the situation is still fluid there, it's still open.”
