Official, Zhou in the Cadillac as a reserve driver

No surprises This morning, as widely expected thanks to social media ‘spoilers’, Cadillac made official the hiring of the Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu as ‘reserve driver’ for the 2026 season. The newborn American team, which will make its debut in F1 this year as the 11th team, thus completes a line-up of four drivers: behind the owners Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas there are in fact the reserves Zhou and Colton Herta, a 25-year-old American driver who in the season that is about to begin, he will also be involved in Formula 2. After his farewell to Ferrari, Zhou thus remains in a third-driver role, while remaining within the orbit of the Prancing Horse: in fact, in its first three seasons in F1, Cadillac will use the power units produced in Maranello. The commercial impact that Zhou’s signature could have is also evident, as he is very popular in China and could significantly help the spread of the Cadillac brand in Asian countries. The words of Zhou and Lowdon “I am delighted to join the Cadillac Formula 1 team as a reserve driver ahead of the team’s debut in Formula 1 – declared Zhou – it is one of the biggest and most exciting projects the sport has ever seen. I have worked with Graeme [Lowdon] and Valtteri [Bottas] for many years in various roles, so joining the team is like finding my family again. Thanks to my recent experience on track and in off-track car development I know I can bring enormous added value to the Cadillac Formula 1 team and I look forward to supporting them in the best way possible.” Graeme Lowdon, Team Principal of the Cadillac team, added: “Our process of selecting a reserve driver was as thorough as the search for our regular drivers. We wanted a candidate who had recent F1 driving experience, was prepared to work hard as part of a team and understood the challenges of developing a car throughout the season. Zhou is perfect for this role. He will be a great asset to us in the 2026 races and we look forward to him becoming an integral part of our team.”