发布日期：2025-08-27 19:06点击次数：52
Cadillac played it safe with its first Formula 1 lineup, bypassing an American driver for series veterans Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Prez.
Neither driver has seats on the grid this season but with a combined 16 wins and 527 starts between them, Bottas and Prez were the pragmatic choices to help build the Cadillac program set to launch in 2026. The hires announced Tuesday bring years of F1 knowledge to Cadillac, a division of U.S. car giant General Motors that will become the 11th team on the grid in 2026.
We believe their experience, their leadership and their technical acumen are really what we need, said Dan Towriss, CEO of the Cadillac Formula 1 team and TWG Motorsports. Its the right combination, the right drivers at the right time, and were humbled by their belief in us and in this project.
Bottas and Prez have been considered the front-runners for months as drivers lobbied for two new seats on what will be a 22-car grid next year.
An American team
Although the project started by Michael Andretti in 2021 was designed to be a true American team with a driver from the United States, Andretti had to exit the effort to help Cadillac and TWG gain approval from Formula One Management.
Towriss bought Andretti out, the team is now owned by TWG Global, and Towriss and GM President Mark Reuss said in May at the Miami Grand Prix that hiring an American driver was no longer a top priority.
IndyCar driver Colton Herta from California was earmarked for a seat by Andretti, but hes yet to earn the super license required to compete in F1 and Cadillac is content to wait for an American. Towriss also laughed at recent reports that he planned to move Herta to Formula 2 next year for Herta to gain the needed points for his license.
Even if Herta did have a super license, he doesnt have the F1 experience Cadillac wants for its launch.
What it comes back to is experience in Formula 1 carried the day, Towriss said. Everybodys new, everybodys working together for the first time. We think that the experience that these two bring are really whats most important.
We certainly do think about and its important to us to make sure theres a pathway for an American driver in Formula 1 and well be working on that. For this inaugural season, for what the team needs, and what these drivers bring, this was the right combination for the team.
Cadillacs new drivers
The driver search was spearheaded by team principal Graeme Lowdon , who had at least a dozen viable options but told The Associated Press last month he had narrowed the list to three or four real contenders.
Prez of Mexico is 35 and Bottas of Finland turns 36 later this week. They have each finished runner-up in the championship before.
Bottas was second in the standings to his then-Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton in 2019 and 2020, while Prez, F1s most successful Mexican driver, was second when his Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen dominated 2023.
Red Bull dropped Prez at the end of last year. Bottas is a Mercedes reserve driver this year after scoring no points in 2024 at Sauber.
Both could also make a big contribution to car development as the F1 regulations change for 2026. In commercial terms. Prez has brought major sponsorship from Mexico to his previous teams, while Bottas humor and social media presence make him a fan favorite.
Reuss said Prez helps the team connect with one of the automakers most critical markets.
The market in Mexico is a big deal for General Motors, and frankly, North America, Reuss said. We sell a lot of cars in Mexico and the fanbase there is absolutely enthusiastic. Those are side benefits.
Towriss said both drivers give the team tremendous commercial appeal.
Checo and Valtteri have very strong followings, from a commercial standpoint, from a sponsorship standpoint, their impact from being on the Formula 1 circuit for many, many years, said Towriss, before noting that experience was still the primary factor.
We talked to a lot of drivers, he said. When you really sit down and get into the experience... and being able to create this chemistry in a team, the conversations are different and they really stand out from the others.
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AP Sports Writer James Ellingworth contributed to this report.
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AP auto racing:
凯迪拉克在其首个一级方程式赛车阵容选择上采取了稳妥策略，放弃启用美国车手，转而选择了经验丰富的系列赛老将瓦尔特利·博塔斯和塞尔吉奥·佩雷斯。
尽管博塔斯和佩雷斯本赛季均未获得正式车手席位，但两人合计16次分站冠军和527场正赛经验的履历，使其成为助力凯迪拉克项目（计划于2026年参赛）的务实之选。周二公布的签约名单为凯迪拉克注入了多年F1赛事经验——这家美国汽车巨头通用旗下的品牌，将在2026年成为第11支F1参赛车队。
凯迪拉克F1车队及TWG赛车运动公司首席执行官丹·托里斯（Dan Towriss）表示：“我们相信他们的经验、领导力和技术敏锐度正是我们所需要的。这是天时地利人和的完美组合——在正确的时间选择了正确的车手。他们对团队及项目的信任令我们深感荣幸。”
数月来，博塔斯和佩雷兹一直被视为最热门人选，因为车手们正在为明年22辆赛车的阵容争夺两个新席位。
一支美国团队
尽管迈克尔·安德雷蒂于2021年启动的这个项目旨在打造一支纯正的美式车队，并配备美国车手，但为了助力凯迪拉克和TWG获得一级方程式管理公司的认可，安德雷蒂不得不退出这一计划。
托里斯收购了安德雷蒂的股份，该车队现由TWG Global所有。托里斯与通用汽车总裁马克·罗伊斯于五月在迈阿密大奖赛期间表示，聘用美国车手已不再是首要任务。
来自加利福尼亚的印地赛车手科尔顿·赫塔（Colton Herta）已被安德雷蒂车队预留席位，但他尚未获得参加F1所需的超级驾照，而凯迪拉克则愿意等待这位美国车手。托里斯（Towriss）还对近期报道一笑置之——该报道称他计划明年将赫塔调至F2赛事以获取所需的驾照积分。
即便赫塔确实拥有超级驾照，他也缺乏凯迪拉克在进军F1时所期望的赛事经验。
托里斯表示："归根结底，是他们在F1赛事中的经验发挥了决定性作用。所有人都是新面孔，首次合作共事。我们认为这两位带来的经验才是最关键的要素。"
我们确实在认真考虑并重视为美国车手开辟一条进入一级方程式的途径，我们将为此持续努力。就首届赛季而言，基于车队的需求以及现有车手带来的优势，当前阵容是最适合团队的选择。
凯迪拉克的新晋驾驶者
车手选拔工作由车队领队格雷厄姆·洛登主导推进。尽管最初至少有十二名合适人选，但他在上月向美联社透露，已将候选名单缩减至三到四位真正有竞争力的车手。
墨西哥车手佩雷兹现年35岁，芬兰车手博塔斯本周将迎来36岁生日。两人此前均曾获得过锦标赛亚军。
博塔斯在2019和2020赛季位居积分榜第二，落后于当时效力梅赛德斯车队的队友刘易斯·汉密尔顿；而F1史上最成功的墨西哥车手佩雷斯，则在2023赛季其红牛队友马克斯·维斯塔潘统治赛场时屈居亚军。
红牛车队于去年年底与佩雷兹解约。博塔斯在2024赛季代表索伯车队未获积分后，今年转任梅赛德斯车队预备车手。
随着2026年F1赛事规则的调整，两人都可能对赛车研发作出重大贡献。从商业角度来看，佩雷兹曾为前东家带来墨西哥的重要赞助，而博塔斯则凭借幽默性格和社交媒体活跃度成为车迷宠儿。
罗伊斯（Reuss）表示，佩雷斯（Pérez）帮助团队与该汽车制造商最关键的市场之一建立了联系。
通用汽车全球产品开发负责人马克·鲁斯（Mark Reuss）表示：“墨西哥市场对通用汽车乃至整个北美地区都至关重要。我们在墨西哥销量可观，当地车迷的热情更是无与伦比。这些都是额外的优势。”
托里斯表示，两位车手为车队带来了巨大的商业吸引力。
托里斯表示：'从商业和赞助角度来看，佩雷兹（Checo）和博塔斯（Valtteri）拥有非常庞大的粉丝群体，他们在F1赛道上征战多年所积累的影响力不容小觑。'但他同时强调，经验仍是首要考量因素。
“我们与许多车手交谈过，”他说，“当你真正坐下来深入体验……并且能够在团队中建立这种化学反应时，对话会变得与众不同，真正脱颖而出。”
美联社体育记者詹姆斯·埃林沃思（James Ellingworth）对本报道亦有贡献。
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