172 replies to this topic

[Nemo1965]

However boring I find Bottas to be, he would be the near perfect choice for Andretti Cadillac. Perfect would be Max, obviously!

[MikeTekRacing]

Perez for sure but frankly I do not think their is an American driver who could move any needle unless that driver came out of NASCAR and was already quite popular. Herta is only known by a small margin of race fans in the States.

 

I'm thinking a KMag and which ever driver GM can use to market their push in which ever country/region they are looking to sell cars. For example if they want to sell in South America - it's FC all day long. Not sure who that driver is in Europe - Fernando? Bring back Vettel?

Fernando is 45 in 2026...

[Wuzak]

I still wonder what Sainz is going to be doing in 2026.

 

He has signed with Williams for 2025 and 2026.

[pdac]

He has signed with Williams for 2025 and 2026.

 

And drivers always stay put for the duration of their contracts?

[Wuzak]

And drivers always stay put for the duration of their contracts?

 

No, but would GM be willing to buy him out of that contract?

 

And I'm sure he would have an out clause if a top team wanted his services - but would GM fit that bill for 2026?

Edited by Wuzak, Today, 03:10.

[Wirdheim]

It you discuss has beens like Ricciardo, Bottas and KMag then Indy 500 winner and current Andretti driver Marcus Ericsson should be in the mix as well.

[HistoryFan]

I am very sad it's not under the name Andretti and not with Michael as team principle. It's his success...

[loki]

Such as?

 

By which I mean, they are racers, they have been racing since early teens if not longer, most have been testing F1 machinery, most have extensive simulator experience - They will do fine.

There is a big difference between practicing for the big game and being in the big game.  Experience counts.

[loki]

One of the wiseasses at The Race suggested Larson.  So there we are.

Prolly do better than Jimmie Johnson at this point…

[absinthedude]

Why Bottas? He's your classic safe pair of hands. He's an excellent benchmark for both the car and whoever his teammate is. If Bottas can't score a few points then the car isn't up to much....like the Sauber this year. If Bottas can't get of the last row of the grid, or is a full second behind the 20th car...then they know the car needs serious work. Same for whoever his teammate is. I assume they will try to get an American in the car, and there aren't any truly credible American drivers with any recent F1 experience. If they put Herta in there, they need a proven teammate to gauge how Herta is doing, and to help him adjust. 

 

Bottas is a known quantity. He's known to deliver the goods. He's not quite WDC material but if the car is any good he'll be competitive. Unless Sainz becomes available there's nobody better out there and nobody else really on the same level. KMag is fast but erratic. I could see a case for him but I'd pick Bottas first. Bottas also comes with years of relatively experience with Mercedes when they were at the top. He knows how a top team functions and can help Andretti/GM/Global/Cadillac learn how to function as a slick F1 team. 

[BRG]

Why Bottas? He's your classic safe pair of hands. 

 

Although Audi don't seem to agree with your assessment.  They prefer the driver with the longest ever streak of failing to reach the podium.

 

Frankly, I wouldn't give either of them a seat, I'd rather go for someone still hungry for success who will give 100%, not some played out journeyman in cruise'n'collect mode

[DJH63]

I still wonder what Sainz is going to be doing in 2026.

 

Driving for Williams. He visited every team on the grid this spring and they all decided that he wasn’t a guy you build your team around.

 

I think I'd love to see Alex Palou in one of these seats.

I’d far rather Palou get a seat than Herta. Not only because he’s clearly a better driver but also it would be great for Indycar as a genuine F1 option for those kids who either don’t have the funding for the ‘official ladder’ or don’t win their debut seasons and are thus written off.

[IrvTheSwerve]

I would guess that Sainz has a massive list of get-out clauses for 2026.

[jonpollak]

It you discuss has beens like Ricciardo, Bottas and KMag then Indy 500 winner and current Andretti driver Marcus Ericsson should be in the mix as well.

Hmmm.. Speaking of has-beens what’s ol’ Bjorn “ Look there’s the finish line, I think I’ll slow down and wave to the crowd” Wirdheim doing these days?

Jp

[BRG]

It looks like Bjorn has hung up his helmet after a long professional career in many categories, latterly mostly GTs and is now co-ordinator for the Carrera Cup Sweden.

 

But really only remembered for that one catastrophic brain fart in Monaco.  

[pdac]

Driving for Williams. He visited every team on the grid this spring and they all decided that he wasn’t a guy you build your team around.

 

I’d far rather Palou get a seat than Herta. Not only because he’s clearly a better driver but also it would be great for Indycar as a genuine F1 option for those kids who either don’t have the funding for the ‘official ladder’ or don’t win their debut seasons and are thus written off.

 

Yes, but that's because they already had good options in place. I'm not a big fan of Sainz and whilst not at the very top tier, he does have the talent to fight for wins in a reasonably competitive car. He is the kind of driver a team might want to build their team around, if they were starting afresh. I don't think it would be too difficult or too expensive (in the grand scheme) to agree terms with Williams.

 

I do agree, though, that Bottas would be a good choice if they just need to get themselves settled in.

[DJH63]

Yes, but that's because they already had good options in place.

RB, Merc and Alpine all had spare seats and could’ve all easily given him a 2 year deal. Ferrari already had him and didn’t need to sign a 39 year old to replace him…

 

They all ultimately decided the same thing, he’s not the guy who you hang your hopes on long term. Assuming GM do take Herta, he will be their Stroll for many years so they only need a short term experienced driver to hold his hand for 12 months.

[pdac]

RB, Merc and Alpine all had spare seats and could’ve all easily given him a 2 year deal. Ferrari already had him and didn’t need to sign a 39 year old to replace him…

 

They all ultimately decided the same thing, he’s not the guy who you hang your hopes on long term. Assuming GM do take Herta, he will be their Stroll for many years so they only need a short term experienced driver to hold his hand for 12 months.

 

Did they decide they didn't want him or did they decide that he wasn't willing to fit into their requirements in terms of playing a second-driver role or demanding too much money for what they wanted (or other contractual demands that those teams didn't want to agree to)? GM won't be in a position to grab Verstappen or Hamilton or Leclerc or anyone like that. All I'm saying is that if they are interested in a high-level driver and Sainz has become more humbled due to his failed contract negotiations with the teams you mention, then it might be worthwhile to both to try it out.

[danmills]

I wonder if they'll flutter the novel idea of just testing a now 32 year old fairly recent man of the moment Kyle Larson... it's a big US name for sure, couldn't hurt his reputation as he's got another 15+ years left of Nascar in him to slot back there quite easily. 

[KWSN - DSM]

I wonder if they'll flutter the novel idea of just testing a now 32 year old fairly recent man of the moment Kyle Larson... it's a big US name for sure, couldn't hurt his reputation as he's got another 15+ years left of Nascar in him to slot back there quite easily. 

 

Does he have the required license, did he ever race single seaters?

[GlenWatkins]

Does he have the required license, did he ever race single seaters?

He's run the Indy 500 with McLaren, some dirt track.

[Frood]

As of the end of 2023, he had 29 superlicence points. That’s actually more than some good open-wheel drivers!

[FLB]

From Racer's Mailbag: 

 

 

MP: You sent this prior to Monday’s formal confirmation of the Cadillac F1 program being accepted for 2026, but as I wrote in the first Mailbag after Michael was uninstalled at his own team, all of my sources positioned this as a high-level move to weed out the problematic aspects of Cadillac’s efforts to reach F1.

 

Liberty Media had major issues with Andretti. And General Motors, as I was told, also took issue — far too much drama and public-facing instability for its liking — and an initiative to move forward without the Michael Andretti distractions was hatched to get Cadillac into that 11th F1 entry slot.

 

 

Source: https://racer.com/20...ag-november-27/

Edited by FLB, Today, 15:03.