Oct 20, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber driver Zhou Guanyu (24) of Team China and Oracle Red Bull Racing driver Sergio Perez (11) of Team Mexico walk back to the paddock after the driver’s parade before the 2024 Formula One US Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

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Juan Pablo Montoya, Former F1 Winner, Predicts the 2026 Lineup for Cadillac F1!

Juan Pablo Montoya brings good news to two different fandoms.

Cadillac F1 is all set to join the Formula 1 grid in 2026. The team has already received the green signal from FIA. It will compete as the 11th team of Formula 1 in 2026. Their parent company GM has also earned FIA’s favor recently. FIA has approved GM’s bid to join in 2029 as a power unit manufacturer. With this, the American giant has come one step closer to establishing its works team in F1.

The team has also started setting up its new headquarters in Silverstone. They are going to operate Cadillac Formula 1 team from the heart of motorsports. GM was facing a huge obstacle after their initial bid’s rejection with Andretti. However, they have stabilised their F1 dream in the past months. As for Andretti, who knows what they might be planning behind the scenes.

BREAKING: Cadillac confirmed as 11th team on the 2026 F1 grid#F1 pic.twitter.com/V5eoWfQCYX
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 7, 2025

Now that FIA and Cadillac have come to agreement and Cadillac F1 has set up its base to spearhead its Formula 1 aspirations. There is one important question left to answer. Ferrari power units are going to power Cadillac F1 until 2029 season. Although, till now there is no news regarding the driver pairings for Cadillac F1 in the 2026 season.

Among many other F1 experts, this seven-time race winning driver in Formula 1 is willing to “bet you money“, on his pick.

Also Read: FIA Welcomes GM Power Units to Join Formula 1 From the 2029 Season!

Juan Pablo Montoya Backs Sergio Perez and Zhou Guanyu as Cadillac F1’s Drivers

Juan Pablo Montoya is among the key figures of American motorsports culture. In his career, he has achieved success in both Formula 1 and IndyCar Racing. As such, it is natural of Montoya to take interest in Cadillac. Montoya has been vocal about F1 in the past. He always has an opinion about the ongoing on Formula 1. He recently warned one of the teams of their fate in 2026.

For Cadillac however, Montoya has found the perfect pairing in Zhou Guanyu and Sergio Perez. To back up his claims, Montoya said-

“I think Sergio Perez would be a great fit for Cadillac, and I bet you money the next guy might be Zhou Guanyu. They would be a perfect fit. Guanyu is the Ferrari reserve. So, he’ll be driving, developing and working. He’ll know everything about Ferrari, and they’re going with a Ferrari engine. So, if you look at it from that point of view, it would make sense.”

🚨
Sergio Perez is looking likely to drive for Cadillac in 2026 and has full backing of team advisor Mario Andretti.🇲🇽

7 time race winner Juan Pablo Montoya thinks that Perez will drive alongside current Ferrari reserve driver Zhou Guanyu in 2026!🏎️🇨🇳

Read more⬇️#CadillacF1 pic.twitter.com/aMvO3YWwDv
— Cadillac F1 Team News (@CadillacF1_) April 27, 2025

Montoya’s words echo in the F1 paddock. There were numerous rumors regarding Sergio Perez’s return to Formula 1. He also confirmed that many teams had already approached him for a prospective project. But, Guanyu’s name is a bit of shocker. In comparison to Colton Herta (the American favorite), Guanyu has not shown enough speed in his Sauber in the past years.

But, according to Montoya, Colton Herta won’t be able to make an instant switch to Formula 1 racing and its environment no matter how fast he is in IndyCar. Montoya’s claims go directly against popular opinion that Cadillac would be eager to utilise Colton Herta in their F1 programme.

Also Read: Former Red Bull Driver Favorite for New F1 Team

Cadillac F1

Formula 1

Formula 1 2026

Juan Pablo Montoya

Sergio Perez

Zhou Guanyu

Rohan Singh

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I work as a Writer at The Playoffs specialising in NHL, Formula 1 and Motorsports. I got into online journalism a couple of years ago. I used to be an intern for a website managing their Formula 1 content and then I served an entire year as a contractual writer.