{"id":36624,"date":"2025-08-08T14:19:07","date_gmt":"2025-08-08T18:19:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/?p=36624"},"modified":"2025-08-08T14:19:07","modified_gmt":"2025-08-08T18:19:07","slug":"alex-dunne-reportedly-enters-race-to-join-cadillac-f1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/08\/08\/alex-dunne-reportedly-enters-race-to-join-cadillac-f1\/","title":{"rendered":"Alex Dunne reportedly enters race to join Cadillac F1"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>One week into the summer break, Cadillac are yet to make any announcements about their 2026 line-up. For several months now, Cadillac team principal Graeme Lowdon has been questioned on his driver shortlist for next year.<\/p>\n<p>Lowdon has done little to narrow down Cadillac&#8217;s options ahead, only emphasising that a multitude of contenders are being considered.<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, there are new names being mentioned as candidates &#8211; including <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/05\/30\/mclaren-downplay-impact-of-new-flexi-wing-restrictions\/\" target=\"_self\">McLaren<\/a> junior Alex Dunne.<\/p>\n<h2>Dunne on Cadillac&#8217;s radar ahead of 2026<\/h2>\n<p>In last year&#8217;s Formula 2 Championship, there was immense coverage about the drivers fighting for a place in Formula 1.<\/p>\n<p>The excitement surrounding the likes of <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/04\/09\/how-valtteri-bottas-is-fast-tracking-antonellis-f1-progress\/\" target=\"_self\">Kimi Antonelli<\/a> and Oliver Bearman &#8211; alongside the breakout performances from Gabriel Bortoleto and Isack Hadjar &#8211; generated significant focus.<\/p>\n<p>Unlike last season, however, the conversation surrounding this year&#8217;s F2 grid has been relatively limited.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_36625\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-36625\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-36625 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/08\/2213174853-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/08\/2213174853-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/08\/2213174853-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/08\/2213174853-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/08\/2213174853-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/08\/2213174853-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/08\/2213174853-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/08\/2213174853-1200x800.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-36625\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alex Dunne in Monaco. (Photo by Alastair Staley\/LAT Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>To some extent, this is because there are already so many rookies in F1.<\/p>\n<p>In this sense, the hunger for more young drivers &#8211; at least amongst commentators and media analysis &#8211; has become less acute.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, regardless of consensus, Formula 2 drivers continue to fight for their F1 aspirations.<\/p>\n<p>With most of the season complete, one of the stand-out performers in 2025 has been Alex Dunne.<\/p>\n<p>The 19-year-old is currently 5th in the standings, only 30 points behind Fornaroli in first &#8211; a very solid tally for a rookie.<\/p>\n<p>As the likes of Piastri, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/08\/05\/alonso-bortoleto-would-get-more-praise-if-he-were-english\/\" target=\"_self\">Bortoleto<\/a> and Hadjar have shown in recent years, the F2 drivers most likely to be competitive in F1 are those who contend for the F2 Championship as rookies.<\/p>\n<p>Despite his youth, there is no denying that Dunne has speed in abundance. His two Feature Race victories and two Pole Positions are evidence of this.<\/p>\n<p>If anything, Dunne&#8217;s only major point of criticism is the number of incidents that he&#8217;s been involved in.<\/p>\n<p>Generally speaking, his aggressive approach to wheel-to-wheel racing has been costly in his battle for the title.<\/p>\n<p>Regardless, his pace is not to be overlooked, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gpblog.com\/en\/exclusive-news\/bottas-at-cadillac-perez-not-these-are-the-candidates-for-spot-2\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">GPBlog<\/a> report that Cadillac are in negotiations with the McLaren junior.<\/p>\n<p>Because of McLaren&#8217;s current driver line-up, Dunne&#8217;s chances of joining F1 with the papaya team are unlikely.<\/p>\n<p>This means that finding a seat elsewhere is essential, which is why contract talks with Cadillac are set to advance this summer.<\/p>\n<h4>Cadillac must make a key decision<\/h4>\n<p>Of course, Dunne is not the only person under consideration at Cadillac. At this stage, a long list of names have been associated with the US project.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_36627\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-36627\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-36627 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/08\/2225064147-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/08\/2225064147-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/08\/2225064147-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/08\/2225064147-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/08\/2225064147-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/08\/2225064147-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/08\/2225064147-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/08\/2225064147-1200x800.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-36627\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alex Dunne prepares to drive during the Formula E Berlin Rookie Test in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Andrew Ferraro\/LAT Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Broadly speaking, the drivers previously mentioned &#8211; such as <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/07\/09\/valtteri-bottas-confirms-recent-alpine-negotiations\/\" target=\"_self\">Bottas<\/a>, Perez\u00a0 and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/08\/01\/f1-felipe-drugovich-among-contenders-for-2026-cadillac-seat\/\" target=\"_self\">Drugovich<\/a> &#8211; are still firmly in contention.<\/p>\n<p>Cadillac continue to monitor and explore these options, although their priorities for 2026 are yet to be fully defined.<\/p>\n<p>The most important question concerning their 2026 line-up is whether they want two experienced drivers, or if they want a combination of youth and experience.<\/p>\n<p>If Cadillac want a youngster alongside a veteran, the likes of Dunne, Drugovich and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2024\/12\/02\/jak-crawford-sets-sights-on-f1-dream-with-cadillacs-2026-entry\/\" target=\"_self\">Jak Crawford<\/a> will be in direct competition.<\/p>\n<p>Considering that Dunne is contending for this year&#8217;s Formula 2 Championship, he has every opportunity to boost his chances.<\/p>\n<p>One of the luxuries that Graeme Lowdon&#8217;s team currently enjoy, is that most teams are not active in the driver market.<\/p>\n<p>This gives Cadillac some breathing space to bide their time before making a final decision.<\/p>\n<p><em>Main photo: Simon Galloway\/LAT Images for Formula E (via McLaren media gallery)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One week into the summer break, Cadillac are yet to make any announcements about their 2026 line-up. For several months now, Cadillac team principal Graeme Lowdon has been questioned on his driver shortlist for next year. Lowdon has done little to narrow down Cadillac&#8217;s options ahead, only emphasising that a multitude of contenders are being [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4927,"featured_media":36626,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[2477,1986,2452],"class_list":["post-36624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-formula-1","category-news","tag-alex-dunne","tag-cadillac","tag-f1-2025-season"],"modified_by":"Jaden Diaz-Ndisang","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36624","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4927"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36624"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36624\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36630,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36624\/revisions\/36630"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}