Surprise IndyCar driver endorsed by Will Buxton for Cadillac F1 seat alongside Mario Andretti's top choice Colton Herta

With Cadillac's 2026 F1 bid officially approved, speculations about their to-be driver pairing are rising, with Andretti Global's IndyCar driver Colton Herta a staple in all such talks. Team director Mario Andretti has declared the 24-year-old his top choice for one seat. IndyCar's lead commentator Will Buxton has now thrown one more name into Cadillac's F1 driver prospect pool.

That name is none other than Herta's teammate Kyle Kirkwood. The 26-year-old American has consistently improved since his debut for Andretti Global in America's premier open-wheel racing series. In 2024, he recorded a career-best seventh-place finish in the standings with 13 Top 10 finishes in 17 races.

Will Buxton, who left F1's digital media team ahead of the 2025 season to become an IndyCar play-by-play commentator for FOX, recently answered a fan's question on social media platform X, that went:

"Now that @CadillacF1 are joining @F1 .they must have an American driver. What are your thoughts on this . @wbuxtonofficial"

The British journalist compared Cadillac's need for an American driver to F1's only other US-based team Haas, and stated how Kyle Kirkwood and Colton Herta would be the team's best choices.

"Haas never saw the need because their market wasn’t exclusively American. It depends what Cadillac wants to gain from their presence. If it’s increased US market share then a US driver makes sense. @ColtonHerta and @KKirkwoodRacing the standout choices, superlicense permitting," Buxton wrote via his X.

Since getting the provisional approval from F1 in November 2024, Cadillac has always shown interest in pairing an American driver with an experienced F1 driver. This will help them grow F1's reach in the US and simultaneously open avenues for the country's drivers to compete in the pinnacle of motorsport.

Team director Mario Andretti is America's most successful driver in F1 with 12 race victories and the 1978 championship with Lotus. Since he retired from the series in 1982, no American driver has even come close to winning a championship, with Logan Sargeant being the country's last home hero, who Williams axed midway in 2024.

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Kyle Kirkwood shrugs off Cadillac F1 "distractions" with full focus on IndyCar

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Kyle Kirkwood has spent his entire junior racing career in the US. He is the only driver in history to win championships in all three divisions of the IndyCar ladder series - the USF2000 title in 2018, Indy Pro 2000 in 2019, and Indy Lights (now Indy NXT) in 2021.

During the 2025 season's first race weekend at St. Petersburg, Kirkwood was asked about his potential involvement with Cadillac F1, which is backed by his employer, Andretti Global.

"No distractions for me," he bluntly replied (via Athlon Sports). "If I’m being honest, minimal questions. I know nothing about it. It’s not something I want to know now because I don’t want to be the guy with information that people are asking for. It’s a good situation for the team. They have worked hard towards it. But my focus is here in IndyCar."

Kirkwood had an impressive outing at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 2, securing his first Top 5 of 2025 with Andretti Global. Teammate Marcus Ericsson finished one place behind in P6, and Colton Herta, who was in victory contention until suffering pit stop trouble, finished in P16.