With just four rounds remaining, DAMS Lucas Oil’s Jak Crawford admitted that ongoing talks are occurirng for a F1 seat for next year, with Cadillac remaining a viable opportunity. After a tough weekend at Spa, Crawford bounced back in Budapest as he secured two podium and a P3 Qualifying finish—reigniting his momentum as the season comes close to an end soon.
Currently P2 in the Drivers’ Standings, the 20 year-old confirmed that discussions with Cadillac are ongoing. While the media has linked both Cadillac seats to well-known names in the F1 world like Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez, Crawford remains determined to secure a spot on the 2026 grid. Whilst his involvement in other series’ continue, Crawford’s 2025 commitments have been in Aston Martin’s young driver development programme and as Andretti’s reserve and development driver in Formula E.
Securing a seat for his future
During the post-Qualifying press conference at the Hungarian GP, Pit Debrief was in attendance, alongside other media outlets, as he spoke briefly on his plans for the future. After the completion of his third F2 campaign, the American is ready to take the next step in his career. Noting that while Cadillac is an American team, he knows its an opportunity he could seize. As ten races remain on the F1 calendar, the 20 year-old admitted there’s still plenty of time for negotiations to take place. But, for now, Crawford knows that his responsibility lies in delivering the necessary results to prove his worth.
“Yeah, I think obviously trying to, on my side, trying to find a spot on the grid for next season. You know, of course, Cadillac is a great option, of course, because they are an American team coming into the sport. So, you know, trying my best to get on the grid for next season.”
“And yeah, there’s not much to it, to be honest. You know, it still feels a bit early in the season, even though I’ve had two seasons, there’s only four more races after this, but for F1, it’s quite long. So yeah, from my side, I just need to keep doing a good job and I think, you know, seeing things like that.”
A look at 2026 F1 regulations
The American’s involvement at Aston Martin has given him a preview of the world of F1. With the new F1 regulations change in 2026 quickly approaching, the media has been curious on how each team’s development has unfolded behind closed doors. He compared the significant shifts in regulations and engines as previously seen in 2014.
“Yeah, definitely going to be a big change in the regulations for next year. I wasn’t too involved back then, but I’m guessing it’s similar to the changes that were made in 2014 in terms of the car and the power unit. Yeah, it’s going to be quite interesting.”
Drawing to his involvement with the development of the power units with Honda, he described the project as an honour to have been a part of.
“We’ve done a lot of work on the power unit side with Honda, of course, working with Honda. And as well, it’s great to be able to develop that. It feels like an honour to be able to develop the car and the power unit for the past four years.”
No added pressure from F1 seat talks
Crawford admitted that added pressure has never bothered him. Whilst he’s aware that this year marks his final shot to reach F1, the American feels the weight of expectations but not any pressure. Having reflected on his weekend in Spa, Crawford expressed his frustrations having missed out on valuable point-scoring opportunities in what has become a highly contested title fight.
“Yeah, I would say it doesn’t affect me too well. For quite a while, that’s kind of what I’ve needed to do, so I’ve done well with that pressure and I don’t feel much added pressure compared to the beginning of the year.”
“I know it’s my last shot in F2. I know it’s my last shot to get to F1. So anyways, I still have that pressure. So yeah, I wouldn’t say it’s much change, but definitely, like last weekend [in Spa], they’re definitely annoying because, you know, we were fighting for the title and it’s so close to margins and to miss out on some points so it’s definitely annoying.”
