F1-linked Crawford comments on Cadillac: “We’re trying”

American driver Jak Crawford has spoken to Motorsport.com about a possible future in F1. The F2 title challenger told the Miami-based news outlet his plans to jump category: “We’re trying to find any space on the grid, whether it’s with Cadillac or Aston Martin or some other teams”.

The Charlotte-born driver is realistic with his possibilities and does not reject the possibility of taking the gamble of a starter seat with a new team like Cadillac over staying at a reserve role at Aston Martin. The former Red Bull junior also defined his future with Lawrence Stroll’s constructor as “up in the air”.

Many a driver has been linked to the two vacant seats at Cadillac, including, once again according to Motorsport.com, forced-outsiders and veterans Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas. The former Red Bull and Mercedes drivers, respectively, are both race winners and vice-champions, and will no doubt have the edge over Crawford in proven talent and pedigree. 

Mick Schumacher also confirmed to Motorsport.com that he has been “in talks” with the US-based future team. However, the former Haas driver seems to have been mentioned less times in 2026 rumours than the previous candidates. Additionally, reports from Kym Illman suggest that former Stake F1 driver Zhou Guanyu, McLaren F1 reserve driver Pato O’Ward and 2022 F2 champion Felipe Drugovich are other “leading contenders” to make the jump to F1 with the Ferrari-powered constructor.

Whether Jak Crawford reaches the top category will surely depend on his driving ability in Formula 2. The DAMS driver is completing his third full year in the silver division with his eyes on the prize as he hopes to slim down the 9-point deficit to leader Leonard Fornaroli in this weekend’s Hungarian GP. Other contenders for the title in this crazily tight season are second-place Richard Verschoor (MP), who is two points behind the Invicta driver; as well as Alexander Dunne (Rodin) and Luke Browning (Hitech), who trail first-place by 11 and 12 points, respectively.

Whoever scores most points in both the Sprint and the Feature Races (as well as the two points for pole), including the F1-linked Jak Crawford, might be at an advantage to take this year’s F2 title and hopefully be closer to a seat in the top category.