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Crawford assess future F1 options after Cadillac open up two extra seats
- Sandy van Wijngaarden
Jak Crawford is one of many names being mentioned for a possible seat at Cadillac in 2026. While the American driver currently competes in Formula 2, Crawford is setting big goals in hopes of becoming F2 champion and then moving on to F1.
For 2025, Crawford has been confirmed with his current team for another year of Formula 2. In a press briefing with GPblog and others, the American driver talked about the new opportunities that the entry of Cadillac from 2026 will bring.
Does Crawford stand a chance of getting a seat at Cadillac in 2026?
"I'll be doing another year of Formula 2 next year, or so probably be my final year where first my goal would be to to win the championship. After that, who knows? I'm looking definitely already forward to the last two races here, trying to maximise. And then, again, looking forward to next year and trying to win the championship."
"And I think, of course, any sort of F2 champion or anyone running at the front will likely have some attention from Formula 1 teams. So definitely I think anything's possible in the future," the 19-year-old stated.
From 2026, Cadillac will enter Formula 1 as the 11th team. From an F2 driver's perspective, Crawford welcomes the addition of an eleventh team. "I would hope that that with the addition of a new Formula One team, of course there's only two more seats, but that’s quite a lot for F1 to add to more seats. So yes, that's two more drivers that will be either moving up."
"It's just two more seats that will be available for F2, F3 drivers. I think, we've seen, of course, we're going to have a lot of rookies in F1 next year from F2. But, the previous year there were, there was only Logan, really, who was a rookie last year. So, yeah, hopefully we'll see that. It's putting a lot more Formula 2 drivers up into Formula 1," Crawford said.
The young American will be busy racing in F2 this year, but his goal remains clear to him. "It is quite tricky. Of course, I've recently signed with Andretti for the Formula E reserve driver role for next season. And as well, I'll most likely be continuing with Aston Martin for next year. So it's tricky."
"Of course, my main goal at the end of the day is to race in Formula 1. And I believe that racing in Formula 2 another year is the best way to get an F1 seat. By just proving myself week after week in racing for the championship, I think that's my best way in the F1. And I do have some other opportunities, but for now, of course, I'm focused on F1 at the moment," Crawford said.
This article has been created in collaboration with Jenny Garnett.
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