Crawford’s F1 Talks with Cadillac Stall

American hopeful Jak Crawford has been investigating various Formula 1 squads in an effort to secure a position on the starting grid in 2026 – which may involve Cadillac.

Having previously been a Red Bull protege for a considerable time, Crawford made the transition to the Aston Martin academy in 2024, which afforded him time in the simulator and several chances to test F1 vehicles.

Crawford had been aiming for an F1 introduction with Aston Martin in 2026, but with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll committed under contract and this scenario unlikely to change, the DAMS Formula 2 competitor is openly exploring alternative avenues.

Crawford admitted to Autosport that his future with Aston Martin was presently “uncertain.”

“It largely hinges on my performance in Formula 2 this year,” he clarified. “If I can secure the championship, it would be advantageous for my career. It could open numerous doors, potentially including a position on the grid or, once again, the role of reserve driver in Formula 1 next year.”

“We’re exploring any potential opportunities on the grid, be it with Cadillac, Aston Martin, or other teams.”

Jak Crawford, Driver Development Program, Aston Martin F1 Team

Photo by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images

The fresh Cadillac F1 unit, via its team leader Graeme Lowdon, has been vocal about its desire to include an American racer in one of its cars, although this isn’t a strict requirement. Currently holding third position in the Formula 2 contest with DAMS, Crawford is the most promising candidate from junior divisions.

“Discussions have been initiated, I’ve been engaging in dialogue, but progress is currently slow,” Crawford, born in North Carolina and later a Texas resident, stated. “From my perspective, my focus is on excelling in Formula 2.”

Faced with opposition from seasoned grand prix victors like Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas, Crawford recognized the considerable challenge in persuading Cadillac to offer him a chance.

“There’s little I can do to contest,” he acknowledged. “In reality, my sole recourse is to shine in F2. Beyond that, my options are limited.”

So, what is the status of Crawford’s performance in F1’s training competition? This is his third year at this point after he accomplished 13th in 2023 and fifth in 2024.

The last outcome allowed him 20 superlicence scores, implying all that he wants to be equipped for a 2026 F1 drive is one more best five completing, however he has been more aggressive than this.

Graeme Lowdon, Cadillac F1 team principal

Photo by: Cadillac Communications

Crawford concluded that prolonging his association with the DAMS group presented him with the prime chance of progress. “We had a magnificent vehicle already last year, but we simply lacked certain little characteristics at each race. Therefore, I chose to remain with DAMS because I believed we identified the small details needing change,” he detailed.

“I already believed I was driving at a reasonably good level last year, but it lacked consistency. We just struggled to achieve it consistently.

“Tires are extremely complex to warm up. We could analyze all the data and enhance it for the subsequent race, but obviously, we couldn’t repeat the same race. So, I now feel like we’re essentially redoing all the races this year, and we’re capable of rectifying what went awry.”

Thus far, this has been primarily fruitful, notwithstanding occasional difficulties in qualifying. Across the initial eight of 14 rounds, Crawford has amassed nearly an equivalent quantity of scores as he did all through his 2024 initiative, even though Spa-Francorchamps halted a sequence of 10 race completions inside the top six (plus one challenge he didn’t begin), which incorporated three triumphs.

In Belgium, the 20-year-old qualified down in 14th and was engaged in a first-lap occurrence in the sprint race as Richard Verschoor, evidently uninformed of not one but two cars on his left, moved both Crawford and Luke Browning into the rock.

“I had a twisted guiding, everything was twisted on the right part and I was additionally losing 50 scores of downforce,” the DAMS driver lamented.

Jak Crawford, DAMS Lucas Oil

Photo by: Formula Motorsport Ltd

Then Crawford frantically lacked speed in the wet component race, taking the checkered banner in seventeenth in the wake of collecting a 37-second deficiency in 19 laps – with some five seconds lost in a trip through rock and grass at Les Fagnes.

“We attempted duplicating what we did in Silverstone, that worked exceptionally well for us,” he expressed. “It didn’t work in that race, so we just battled a great deal.”

Try not to allow this average end of the week to cloud your judgment of Crawford’s general exhibition. Above, he alluded to the Silverstone component race, where he grabbed the lead from third toward the beginning and took a close lights-to-banner triumph, withstanding assaults from Alex Dunne – the McLaren junior whom Crawford singles out as the driver who has dazzled him the most. Dunne was prevailing again at Spa-Francorchamps in wet conditions before losing the success to a punishment over a beginning system break.

Regardless, Crawford isn’t excessively stressed over the effect of his Spa difficulty: “It’s just one end of the week. You attempt to not have some terrible ends of the week, yet we’re still very close in the title, so I think it’s not the apocalypse.

“There’s still five additional ends of the week after this, so there’s still a great deal in question. Anything can occur, particularly in this series. Obviously it sucks not to have some great focuses this end of the week, but not to stress. I have no question that I can be stronger.”