Martin Brundle Delivers Cadillac F1 Driver Verdict

Originally posted on F1 on SI | By Ewan Gale | Last updated Aug 27, 2025 9:58 AM ET

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Cadillac kicked the Formula 1 season back into life after the summer break by announcing its driver lineup for the team's debut season in the championship ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix.

The American squad has welcomed F1 race winners Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas as it attempts to hit the ground running when the first wheels are turned in the first of three pre-season tests in January next year.

British former driver-turned-pundit Martin Brundle has delivered his verdict on the decision by Cadillac to bring back two vastly experienced drivers.

What Cadillac "can't afford"

Cadillac was known to be assessing a number of options for its lineup before settling for Perez and Bottas, who have both been on the sidelines this year having left Red Bull and Sauber at the end of 2024, respectively.

While current Alpine World Endurance Championship driver Mick Schumacher garnered attention as a possible comeback became a possibility, rookies in the form of Brazilian Aston Martin reserve driver Felipe Drugovich and American Formula 2 star Jak Crawford were also considered.

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There had been a call for Crawford to be selected so that an American driver and team partnership could be created while Drugovich drove for the General Motors brand at this year's Le Mans 24 Hours in June.

But to fast-track its ability to be competitive in F1, Cadillac has opted for an experienced pairing with both drivers knowing what it takes to find performance with the two most successful teams of the past decade in Mercedes and Red Bull.

"That’s a great driver line up," said Brundle in a post on X. "The team needs experience and direction in year one, and can’t afford to have rookies damaging cars when all the resources will be heavily stretched.

"They’ll probably have to park their early frustrations as the team gets up and running, especially with such a dramatic regulation reset."

That’s a great driver line up, the team needs experience and direction in year one, and can’t afford to have rookies damaging cars when all the resources will be heavily stretched. They’ll probably have to park their early frustrations as the team gets up and running, especially… https://t.co/1Aj7kgIi2g
— Martin Brundle OBE (@MBrundleF1) August 26, 2025

Rookie danger

While it is certainly not true for all rookies in F1, recent history shows that new drivers can be expensive ventures for teams under the current budget cap restrictions.

Every accident in the sport comes with repair and new component production costs and with Cadillac needing to put as much resources into upgrades in its infancy as it can, any mistake will be amplified.

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Schumacher was dropped by Haas after the 2022 season after a spate of heavy crashes, as was American Logan Sargeant after a tough spell at Williams in 2023 and the first half of 2024.

Jack Doohan proved a similar point with heavy crashes in his short spell with Alpine at the start of the campaign before making way for Franco Colapinto. The Argentine has had similarly expensive errors since taking over.

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This article first appeared on F1 on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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