{"id":39674,"date":"2026-07-27T06:53:02","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T10:53:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/?p=39674"},"modified":"2026-07-27T06:55:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T10:55:20","slug":"rafael-camara-in-contention-for-2027-cadillac-seat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2026\/07\/27\/rafael-camara-in-contention-for-2027-cadillac-seat\/","title":{"rendered":"Rafael Camara in contention for 2027 Cadillac seat"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Cadillac have generally exceeded expectations this season, with the US team proving it can holds its own in Formula 1.<\/p>\n<p>As a new team, their chances of being competitive were widely downplayed. Many analysts assumed they would struggle to even reach the 107% threshold to qualify for races.<\/p>\n<p>This is why Cadillac&#8217;s performance (which until <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2026\/07\/26\/piastri-furious-sainz-after-hungary-contact\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Hungary<\/a> was comparable to Aston Martin) has been such a pleasant surprise.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond this, however, there is a story developing about Cadillac&#8217;s driver line-up for next season &#8211; which is yet to be finalised.<\/p>\n<p class=\"aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: px\"><smartframe-embed class=\"smartframe_wp_element\" customer-id=\"ce3396e7caf97ad89750ee032b676839\" image-id=\"oSog9gV3PsqU\" style=\"width: 100%; display: inline-flex; max-width: 7188px; aspect-ratio: 7188\/4792;\" ><\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n<h2>Camara on 2027 Cadillac shortlist<\/h2>\n<p>Heading into this season, Cadillac spoke extensively about the importance of securing an experienced driver combination.<\/p>\n<p>They successfully achieved this by signing <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2026\/02\/09\/perez-cadillac-would-be-disappointed-to-finish-last-in-2026\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Sergio Perez<\/a> and Valtteri Bottas, two drivers who have spent over a decade in the sport. For a new team, this line-up is very impressive.<\/p>\n<p>Generally speaking, analysing the relative performance of the Cadillac duo has been tricky.<\/p>\n<p>Since a variety of reliability issues have often impact performance in qualifying and race day, the deficits between Perez and Bottas can be misleading.<\/p>\n<p>It should also be noted that Cadillac often experiment with different components, meaning their drivers often test various parts (affecting ultimate pace) throughout a race weekend.<\/p>\n<p>Due to their experience, the Cadillac pair are more than capable of giving valuable feedback.<\/p>\n<p>With that said, this does not mean Graeme Lowdon&#8217;s team are unwilling to sign a younger talent. Indeed, reports from <a href=\"https:\/\/motorsport.uol.com.br\/f1\/news\/f1-rafa-camara-surge-como-candidato-para-a-cadillac-em-2027\/10841385\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">motorsport.uol<\/a> suggest the US squad have F2 driver Rafael Camara on their radar for 2027.<\/p>\n<p>The 21-year-old is currently third in the Formula 2 Standings, and has generated plenty of interest across the paddock.<\/p>\n<p>Critically, Camara is a <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2026\/04\/01\/ferrari-engine-upgrades-in-pipeline-to-close-mercedes-gap\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Ferrari<\/a> junior driver. Not only has the Scuderia&#8217;s backing helped his career progression until now, but it could be crucial for unlocking doors to Formula 1.<\/p>\n<p class=\"aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: px\"><smartframe-embed class=\"smartframe_wp_element\" customer-id=\"c78749ece7fd074ea5dc1889e7c53f0f\" image-id=\"esme2WO7BRBj\" style=\"width: 100%; display: inline-flex; max-width: 6000px; aspect-ratio: 6000\/4002;\" ><\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n<h4>Why Camara is a feasible option for Cadillac<\/h4>\n<p>Although Cadillac have generally spoken about the importance of experienced drivers, this point should not be overstated.<\/p>\n<p>After all, they were initially interested in getting Colton Herta into one of their seats for 2026. It was only a lack of Superlicense points that meant the American could not earn a place in Formula 1.<\/p>\n<p>Once this season concludes, Cadillac will be more inclined to considering if there is any young talent available they can sign and develop.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking or Herta, the American was once seen as a candidate to join Cadillac in 2027.\u00a0However, currently sitting 16th in the Formula 2 standings, this option seems unlikely.<\/p>\n<p>Camara, meanwhile, is a young driver competing for the F2 Championship. His speed is obvious, and as a young driver his room for growth is significant.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond this, Camara&#8217;s status as a Ferrari junior cannot be overlooked. Cadillac are a Ferrari customer team, and therefore have important ties with the Italian outfit.<\/p>\n<p>Although Cadillac will take an independent decision on their drivers, they could hit two birds with one stone by signing Camara &#8211; strengthening their relations with Ferrari and adding a talented driver to their line-up.<\/p>\n<p>It is no coincidence that Camara has also been linked to a 2027 <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2026\/02\/21\/haas-expect-to-be-firmly-in-midfield-battle-after-solid-bahrain-tests\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Haas<\/a> seat, with Komatsu&#8217;s team also using Ferrari power units.<\/p>\n<p>However, owing to Toyota&#8217;s growing investment in Haas, Ferrari&#8217;s influence over their driver pairing is weaker than it has been traditionally. Therefore, Cadillac becomes a more plausible destination.<\/p>\n<p>Camara also brings sizeable commercial potential, with the Brazilian sponsor likely to command substantial appeal to fans and sponsors should be make the jump to F1.<\/p>\n<p>Whilst these are only initial reports, this part of the driver market is worth following.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cadillac have generally exceeded expectations this season, with the US team proving it can holds its own in Formula 1. As a new team, their chances of being competitive were widely downplayed. Many analysts assumed they would struggle to even reach the 107% threshold to qualify for races. This is why Cadillac&#8217;s performance (which until [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4927,"featured_media":39676,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":true,"sfio_embed_code":"<smartframe-embed customer-id=\"ce3396e7caf97ad89750ee032b676839\" image-id=\"oSog2Gj6e7Dx\" style=\"width: 100%;max-width: 7021px;aspect-ratio: 7021\/4681\"><\/smartframe-embed><!-- https:\/\/smartframe.io\/embedding-support -->","_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":[853,1986,2611,2582],"class_list":["post-39674","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-formula-1","category-news","tag-bottas","tag-cadillac","tag-camara","tag-f1-2026-season"],"modified_by":"Jaden Diaz-Ndisang","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39674","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=39674"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39674\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39681,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39674\/revisions\/39681"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39676"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39674"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39674"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39674"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}