Cadillac goes safe, Mick Schumacher left watching the clock
For a few hours at the Red Bull Ring, the image told the story. Mick Schumacher, back in the F1 paddock, glancing toward a Cadillac badge on a hospitality wall. The brand-new outfit had been a genuine option for him — a way back onto the grid, a clean page after two bruising seasons at Haas and a good rebuild year in endurance racing. Then the phone call came.
Cadillac, set to join as Formula 1’s 11th team in 2026, has signed Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez to lead its debut. CEO and team principal Graeme Lowdon had openly acknowledged Schumacher was on a longlist earlier in the summer. There were “positive things” to say about Mick, Lowdon noted then, but also a reality: the list was long. When the shortlist met the boardroom, Cadillac chose certainty.
“Signing two very experienced racers like Bottas and Checo is a bold signal of intent,” Lowdon said when the announcement dropped. “They’ve seen it all and they know what it takes to succeed in Formula 1. But more importantly, they understand what it means to help build a team. Their leadership, feedback, race-hardened instincts and of course their speed will be invaluable as we bring this team to life.”
You can see the logic. A green team wants fewer unknowns. Perez and Bottas have won races, lived through big-project pressure, and can slam out clean laps on Fridays when the aero guys need back-to-back data. They also tend not to throw the car at the scenery. That matters when you’re learning at hyperspeed.
But it’s a measured play with a question mark. Are they still quick enough in 2026 to yank a rookie team into the midfield? Ralf Schumacher isn’t convinced Cadillac struck the right balance.
“Cadillac chose Bottas and Perez because both have won races, worked with top teams and break little to nothing,” he told t-online. “This is important for a team that wants to gather insights and information quickly. The only question is whether both still have the speed. After all, the last years of the two were not exactly particularly strong, to put it kindly.
“I think it’s a bit surprising, because I would have preferred the combination of experience and youth. I am convinced that Mick would have given the team something with the racing experience he has from Formula 1 and also his last appearances in the World Endurance Championship.”
There’s a familiar melancholy to this one for Schumacher. Over the past year he’d been loosely linked with a few F1 avenues — Mercedes, Williams, Audi, Alpine — as teams shuffled test roles and 2026 plans. The grid never opened. So he kept his hands warm elsewhere: a full campaign in the World Endurance Championship with Alpine, two podiums, plenty of mileage, and a reminder that he’s not short on racecraft or work ethic.
What’s changed now is the calendar. If Cadillac was one of the clearer lifelines, it’s gone. The 2025 Formula One World Championship grid is tight, and the class of up-and-comers is breathing down the door. As Ralf put it, the numbers aren’t kind.
“He’s been out of Formula 1 for a few years now, you can already say he’s running out of time,” he said. “And you shouldn’t forget, there are already some younger drivers from Formula 2, for example Alex Dunne (19) or Arvid Lindblad (18), both of whom have a good chance of making it to Formula 1 in the near future. It doesn’t get any easier for Mick, it has to be said. Statistically speaking, it’s getting harder and harder for Mick, you have to be honest. The longer he is out, the less likely he is to return.”
The next chapter might be Stateside. Schumacher is set for a mid-October IndyCar test with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. It could be nothing more than a yardstick. It could also be the start of something, a reset in a series where aggression and adaptability are rewarded weekly. If the F1 door keeps creaking shut, a strong showing in America can make a lot of noise back in Europe — and it’s not as if the transatlantic pathway is unheard of anymore.
As for Cadillac, it’s hard to knock a new team for choosing known quantities. Bottas and Perez will give them a baseline and a voice in the room when chaos hits, which it will. The downside is you trade some upside — the raw pace and hunger of youth — for continuity and calm. Maybe that’s precisely what GM wants for Year 1. Maybe in Year 2 or 3 they go hunting for that spark.
Schumacher, meanwhile, keeps moving. That Austrian Grand Prix photo felt like a crossroads. The sign on the wall said Cadillac. The sign on the horizon says time.
