Sergio Pérez Forms Part of Cadillac’s Driver Lineup for Formula 1 Debut Season in 2026

Posted on August 27, 2025 by Tom Castaneda

Sergio Pérez is ready to be iconic…

Cadillac has confirmed the 35-year-old Mexican racing driver, who most recently competed in Formula 1 from 2011 to 2024, and Valtteri Bottas will form its driver lineup for its Formula 1 debut season in 2026.

Cadillac has opted for the two best free agents available, with a combined 527 race starts and 16 race wins between them.

Tuesday’s announcement video included a voice-over from actor Keanu Reeves and in an accompanying statement, Cadillac said Pérez and Bottas bring “an unmatched blend of experience, leadership and technical acumen.”

It added that “the pair will play a central role in shaping the team’s competitive foundation from day one.”

Pérez had been a free agent after being dropped by Red Bull at the end of a difficult 2024 season.

He said his ambition is to immediately help establish the new team as a competitive force.

“Joining the Cadillac Formula 1 Team is an incredibly exciting new chapter in my career. From our first conversations, I could sense the passion and determination behind this project,” Pérez said in Tuesday’s announcement.

“It’s an honor to be part of a building a team that can develop together so that, in time, we will fight at the very front. Cadillac is a legendary name in American motorsport, and to help bring such a fantastic company to Formula 1 is a huge responsibility, one I’m confident of taking on.”

Bottas has also been without a race seat this year. The Finn returned to former team Mercedes, where he raced between 2017 and 2021, as reserve driver this season, following three years with Sauber.

“From the moment I began speaking with the Cadillac Formula 1 Team, I felt something different — something ambitious but also grounded,” Bottas said. “This isn’t just a racing project; it’s a long-term vision. It’s not every day that you get a chance to be part of something being built from the ground up and helping shape it into something that truly belongs on the F1 grid.”

Pérez and Bottas were on opposite sides of the legendary 2021 championship battle between their then-teammates, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, widely regarded as one of the best title fights in the sport’s history.

Cadillac, a brand of General Motors, will become F1‘s 11th team next season.

The American team will race with Ferrari engines in the short term, although GM has already committed to building its own engines out of a U.S. headquarters by the end of the decade.

Early in the process, which led to Cadillac being granted a process on the grid, it was clear the team wanted to join Formula 1 with an American driver in one of the two available seats.

However, that never came to pass — despite IndyCar‘s Colton Herta, seen as the most likely candidate for that role, hedging his interest in switching to F1 earlier this year.

Realistically, there were limited options for a team which expects to face a steep learning curve next season as the first new arrival on the grid since another American outfit, Haas, joined in 2016.

Cadillac’s team is run by former Manor team boss Graeme Lowden and features American racing legend Mario Andretti, the 1978 F1 champion, on its board of directors.

Speaking of the new lineup, Lowden said: “Signing two very experienced racers like Bottas and Checo is a bold signal of intent.

“They’ve seen it all and they know what it takes to succeed in Formula 1. But more importantly, they understand what it means to help build a team. Their leadership, feedback, race-hardened instincts and of course their speed will be invaluable as we bring this team to life. A big thank you to the team at Mercedes for their co-operation and understanding.”

Cadillac still has an opportunity for a reserve driver to serve as backup to Pérez and Bottas, with Mick Schumacher reportedly a strong candidate, while American Formula 2 driver Jak Crawford is also known to be pushing for that role.

The operation will be based primarily out of a UK factory near the Silverstone race circuit, but also has U.S. bases is Fishers, Indiana, and Warren, Michigan. Plans are in place for GM to open a specific Formula 1 engine factory in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2026.

Felipe Massa Among Investors in France’s Le Mans Football Team

Posted on August 1, 2025 by Tom Castaneda

Felipe Massa is getting in the futbol game…

The 44-year-old Brazilian racing driver is part of a group of investors who’ve bought a stake in French second-tier football team Le Mans, along with fellow ex-Formula 1 driver Kevin Magnussen and tennis star Novak Djokovic , the club said on Friday.

Le Mans said in a statement that they join other new financial investors into the club, including Latin American sports investment firm OutField and Georgios Frangulis, the founder and chief executive of OakBerry. Frangulis is the boyfriend of three-time women’s Grand Slam champion Aryna Sabalenka.

“The uniqueness of this fund also lies in its contribution from high-level athletes,” Le Mans president Thierry Gomez said in the statement. “Novak Djokovic, Felipe Massa, and Kevin Magnussen will be part of the adventure.”

No financial details were given.

Massa won 11 races and secured 41 podiums in his F1 career. When driving for Ferrari, the popular Brazilian was within a whisker of winning the 2008 title, only for Lewis Hamilton to beat him in a dramatic finish at the last race. Hamilton won the title by 98 points to 97.

Le Mans football club, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary, begin their league campaign on August 9.

Le Mans — a small city in northwestern France — also hosts the famed 24-hour endurance car race.

Bad Bunny Partners with Adidas Originals & Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS to Bring Formula 1 Racing to Puerto Rico

Posted on July 31, 2025 by Tom Castaneda

Bad Bunny has a new formula to promote his native land…

The 31-year-old Puerto Rican Grammy-winning superstar, Adidas Originals and the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team are joining up to bring Formula 1 racing to Puerto Rico for the first time on Saturday, August 2.

To celebrate the three-way collaboration bringing F1 to Puerto Rico, Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 have also announced that Bad Bunny is officially joining the team as its newest member.

The press release did not specify what duties this will entail.

Open to the public and free of charge, this showcase — which kicks off at 9:00 am local time — will be the “first time in history that a Formula 1 car has touched Puerto Rican soil,” according to the press release.

At the heart of this spectacle is a demo run featuring a Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 car driven by Mexican motorsports star Esteban Gutiérrez that will race across the Puente Dos Hermanos bridge, which was built in 1910.

Following the demo run, attendees will get the opportunity to immerse themselves in racing history. A curated exhibit at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico (aka El Choli) will showcase Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 race suits, gloves, boots and other archival gear, honoring decades of motorsport excellence.

As Bad Bunny continues his 30-show sold-out residency at El Choli, the partnership continues to “reflect the aim of Adidas, the artist, and Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 to spotlight Puerto Rico on a global stage,” the press release notes, as it also aims to “energize the team’s serious competitive perspective through Bad Bunny’s trailblazing identity as a generational force and Originals’ unrelenting aesthetic innovation.”

Franco Colapinto Joins Alpine as Reserve Driver for Upcoming Formula 1 Season

Posted on January 18, 2025 by Tom Castaneda

Franco Colapinto is officially on F1 reserve…

The 21-year-old Argentine racing driver has joined Alpine as a reserve driver for the upcoming Formula 1 season, the team has revealed.

Colapinto will be on stand-by behind Alpine race drivers Pierre Gasly and Australian rookie Jack Doohan should either be unable to contest a race, while also being available for testing duties.

Colapinto’s arrival wilt increase the pressure and scrutiny on Doohan, a product of Alpine’s driver academy and son of motorbike racing legend Mick, who was given an early F1 debut at last year’s finale in Abu Dhabi.

Alpine has been keen to stress this week that Colapinto’s arrival has no bearing on its driver line-up, but reports in Argentina suggest otherwise.

“I am super excited to have the opportunity to join BWT Alpine Formula One Team,” Colapinto, who has signed a multi-year deal with the team, said. “First of all, I want to say thank you to Williams for all their support from the moment I joined the Academy until the last race in Abu Dhabi. They turned my dream of racing in Formula 1 into reality, and I will always be grateful for that.

“Now, it is time for a new chapter, and to take on this challenge with BWT Alpine Formula One Team is truly an honour.”

Colapinto quickly became a popular figure in his native Argentina after replacing Logan Sergeant at Williams midway through 2024.

A string of impressive performances put him on the radar of both Alpine and Red Bull.

Interest from the latter waned after Colapinto crashed in Brazil and Las Vegas, but Alpine has pursued his signature for months.

Sources have told ESPN Williams, who go into the new year with a race line-up of Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon, required a buyout to release Colapinto from his contract with them.

Much like Liam Lawson with Daniel Ricciardo at RB last year, the presence of Colapinto at Alpine as the season progresses will likely be a source of continuing intrigue.

Alpine executive advisor Flavio Briatore added: “Clearly, Franco is among the best young talents in motorsport right now.

“It is fair to say his appearance on the Formula 1 grid last year caught many, me included, by surprise and his performances have been very impressive for a rookie driver.

“We have an eye on our future and his signing means we have a great pool of young drivers to call upon and work with in developing the team for future success.”

Alpine’s confirmation came hours after adding Japanese driver Ryo Hirakawa as a reserve and test driver.

The Japanese driver, 30, will also take part in first practice at the Japanese Grand Prix for the team on April 4.

Hirakawa was a development driver for McLaren and raced in the World Endurance Championship with Toyota last year. The other Alpine F1 reserve is Paul Aron, who impressed in Formula 2 in 2024.

Javier Bardem to Star in Netflix’s “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story”

Posted on January 15, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Javier Bardem has landed a monster(s) role…

The 54-year-old Spanish Oscar-winning actor will star in Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, the second season of the acclaimed Netflix crime anthology Monster from creators Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan.

Bardem will star alongside Chloë Sevigny, Nicholas Chavez and Cooper Koch in the series.

Bardem abd Sevigny will respectively play Jose and Kitty Menendez, the Beverly Hills couple murdered by sons Lyle (Chavez) and Erik (Koch).

The new season comes on the heels of Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, which starred Evan Peters as the notorious serial killer and quickly became one of Netflix’s most popular English-language series ever when it debuted in September 2022.

It was in 1989 that Lyle and Erik Menendez murdered parents Jose and Kitty in their L.A.-area home. Although not initially looked at as prime suspects, they came under investigation in the months following and eventually confessed to parricide, at the same time claiming that their actions stemmed from years of physical, emotional and sexual abuse at the hands of their father. Their first of two trials, broadcast on Court TV, had the nation in its grip, much like the 1994 trial of O.J. Simpson, and is believed to have played a part in the modern-day fascination with true crime.

The prosecution argued that the pair were in fact seeking to inherit their father’s multimillion-dollar estate, and the Menendez brothers were convicted in 1996 and sentenced to life imprisonment, without the possibility of parole, though the case continues to unfold to this day. Last summer, Erik and Lyle filed documents in hopes of a new hearing, following former Menudo bandmember Roy Rosselló’s claim that he was molested by José Menendez at the age of 14.

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is one of two forthcoming seasons of the Monster anthology announced as of November 2022. The story at the center of the third chapter has not yet been revealed. In addition to the scripted series on the Menendez brothers, Netflix has a feature doc on the duo in the works, brought to life with exclusive access to the subjects.

Most recently portraying King Triton in Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Bardem will next be seen in Dune: Part Two, out March 1 following a strike-imposed delay, and Apple’s Formula 1 racing movie with Brad Pitt.

Carlos Sainz Teams Up with Justin Thomas to Claim First-Ever Netflix Cup Trophy

Posted on November 15, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Carlos Sainz is celebrating his Netflix and thrill moment…

The 29-year-old Spanish racing driver, who currently competes in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari, and pro golfer Justin Thomas teamed up to win the first-ever Netflix Cup, a crossover event featuring PGA TOUR players and F1 drivers competing in an eight-hole scramble.

The first-of-a-kind event was held Tuesday at Wynn Golf Club in Las Vegas.

The duo hoisted the Cup together in the post-match ceremony, with Thomas then drinking from the Cup. Then Sainz had his turn, and he dropped the trophy, which broke.

Thomas and Sainz defeated the tandem of Tony Finau and Pierre Gasly in the closest-to-pin contest on the final hole after the four-team field was cut in half following eight holes of match play.

The competition qualified as silly at times, but the spectators lining the course to watch seemed to find it entertaining.

A number of celebrities were on hand for the event, which also included controversial topics.

Protesters, apparently representing PETA, came onto the course to demand that F1, with parent company Liberty Media, cut ties with the Iditarod dogsled race in Alaska.

While golf was the designated sport, it was far from any typical round.

There were plenty of antics with the golf itself. For instance, on the first tee, four golfers teed off at the same time and then raced to their golf carts, following the designated “race course” onto the fairway to get to their balls. Golfers raced to get to the green and to see who could arrive fastest, locate their golf balls and then putt amid the mayhem on the greens.

As part of the race to get to the greens, golfer Rickie Fowler was driving the cart with F1 driver Lando Norris as the passenger.

The other team was Max Homa–Alex Albon. Finau was credited with the competition’s first birdie.

This competition was a prelude to the weekend’s Formula 1 Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix.

This was Netflix’s first live airing of a sports event.

Maná to Make Long-Awaited Debut at Mexico’s Vive Latino Festival

Posted on November 13, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Maná is preparing for a special festival debut…

The legendary Mexican Grammy-winning Latin rock band will headline the 2024 Vive Latino Festival, the group’s debut at the emblematic rock festival.

The “Oye Mi Amor” band will co-headline the festival with Belanova, marking the group’s long-awaited return to the Mexican stages.

The varied Vive Latino lineup also includes Scorpions, Jorge Drexler, Silvana Estrada, Paramore, Greta Van Fleet, Fito Páez, Hombres G and Babasónico.

Taking place March 16 and 17, and held for the first time at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City (headquarters of Formula 1 and the Corona Capital Festival), the official announcement was made on Sunday, November 12 by OCESA via social media and the official Vive Latino page, where Internet users discovered who was part of the lineup through an interactive online game.

Bad Religion, James, Semisonic, Gogol Bordello, Mexican Institute of Sound, Los Lobos, Portugal. the Man, Junior H, The Warning and San Pascualito Rey are also part of the festival’s lineup, which will gather ’80s rock, ska, Balkan music, reggae, punk and metal bands.

Although Vive Latino has opened its doors to genres such as regional Mexican and cumbia, the music festival is one of the largest and longest running festivals dedicated to Latin rock, and currently the one with the longest tradition in Mexico with 24 editions held. Given its history, the presence of Maná for the first time was a pending issue.

“CDMX, see you soon,” expressed the quartet from Guadalajara, Jalisco, on its X account, in which the group shared the festival poster.

Belanova, on the other hand, will make its comeback to the Vive Latino stage after an almost six-year hiatus. Vocalist Denisse Guerrero, keyboardist Édgar Huerta and bassist Ricardo Arreola will arrive at Mexico City after their participation in the Bésame Mucho festival, in Austin, Texas, on March 2.

In its 2024 edition, Vive Latino joined forces with Amazon, which is already preparing several innovations for the festival through its technology and multiple services. Ticket presale for Citibanamex cardholders will take place at 2:00 pm (Central Mexico time) on Wednesday, November 15 through Ticketmaster Mexico.

Camila Márdila to Star in Netflix’s Highly-Anticipated Biopic Series “Senna”

Posted on October 20, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Camila Márdila is preparing for life in the fast lane…

The 35-year-old Brazilian actress will star in Netflix’s highly-anticipated Senna biopic series.

Over the course of six episodes, Senna will, for the first time, depict the journey of overcoming obstacles, ups and downs, joys, and sorrows of Formula 1 driver Ayrton Senna da Silva, a Brazilian racing driver who won the F1 World Drivers’ Championship in 1988, 1990 and 1991.

Senna is one of three Formula One drivers from Brazil to win the World Championship and won 41 Grand Prixs and 65 pole positions, with the latter being the record until 2006.

He died tragically in Italy during the San Marino Grand Prix.

A 2010 documentary from Asif Kapadia on the sports star won Best Documentary at the BAFTAs.

Mardilla, who joins previously-announced lead Gabriel Leone and Kaya Scodelario, is part of a roster of new cast additions that includes Alice Wegmann, Christian Malheiros, Gabriel Louchard, Hugo Bonemer, Julia Foti, Marco Ricca, Pâmela Tomé and Susana Ribeiro.

Other previously announced cast members include Matt Mella, Arnaud Viard, Joe Hurst, Johannes Heinrichs, Keisuke Hoashi, Leon Ockenden, Patrick Kennedy, Richard Clothier, Steven Mackintosh and Tom Mannion .

The large-scale production and some of the actors have just arrived in Brazil, where filming is taking place in São Paulo and Angra dos Reis, Rio de Janeiro.

The Gullane-produced miniseries, one of Netflix’s biggest in Brazil, has already filmed in Argentina and Uruguay and will proceed to the UK after completing filming in the country.

Vicente Amorim is showrunner and the director is Julia Rezende.

Neon Releases Official Trailer for Adam Driver & Penelope Cruz’s “Ferrari”

Posted on October 18, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Penelope Cruz is driving interest in her latest film project…

The official trailer has been released for Michael Mann’s Ferrari, starring the 49-year-old Spanish Oscar-winning actress opposite Adam Driver.

“Two objects cannot occupy the same point in space at the same moment in time,” begins the trailer.

The film finds automotive mogul Enzo Ferrari at a personal and professional crisis point in his life. “The corner races at you, you have perhaps a crisis of identity,” says Driver’s Ferrari. “Am I a sportsman, or a competitor?” he asks.

Facing bankruptcy and a marriage unraveling, Ferrari’s best hope of saving his legacy and his failing business is to win the treacherous Mille Miglia 1,000-mile race across Italy.

Neon will release the film on December 25. “If you get into one of my cars, you get in to win.”

Here’s the film’s description: It is the summer of 1957. Behind the spectacle of Formula 1, ex-racer Enzo Ferrari (Driver) is in crisis. Bankruptcy threatens the factory he and his wife, Laura (Cruz), built from nothing 10 years earlier. Their volatile marriage has been battered by the loss of their son a year earlier, and Ferrari struggles to acknowledge his son with Lina Lardi (Shailene Woodley). Meanwhile, his drivers’ passion to win pushes them to the edge as they launch into the treacherous 1,000-mile race across Italy, the Mille Miglia.

Patrick Dempsey, Sarah Gordon, Gabriel Leone and Jack O’Connell also star in Mann’s vehicle, which was scripted by Troy Kennedy Martin.

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Ends Max Verstappen’s Winning Streak with Singapore Grand Prix Victory

Posted on September 17, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Carlos Sainz has put an end to Max Verstappen‘s record-breaking run of victories…

The 29-year-old Spanish racing driver, currently competing in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari, won a tense Singapore Grand Prix to end Verstappen’s record-breaking run and Red Bull‘s hopes of an unbeaten season.

Sainz drove a tactical masterclass in the final laps, keeping Lando Norris‘ McLaren close enough that he had use of the Drag Reduction System (DRS) overtaking aid to keep charging Mercedes drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton at bay.

In a dramatic finish, on the final lap Russell crashed out while chasing Norris to hand the final podium spot to Hamilton.

Sainz’s win was his second in F1 and Ferrari‘s first since his teammate Charles Leclerc won the Austrian Grand Prix on July 10 last year.

In the time since, Red Bull had lost only one race, when George Russell won the Brazilian Grand Prix in November.

Sainz’s victory ended Verstappen’s record run of 10 wins in a row as the huge pace advantage Red Bull had all year disappeared under the lights of Marina Bay.

Verstappen had to settle for fifth position, his first race off the podium this year.

What had been a quiet contest exploded into life in the final 10 laps.

Russell and Hamilton had been brought into contention when Mercedes used a Virtual Safety Car on Lap 45 of 62 to bring both drivers in for fresh tyres when the others did not.

The pace advantage saw them quickly catch the lead three cars, but after both got by Leclerc with relative ease, Russell was unable to get past Norris, who was always within one second of Sainz.

When told how close Norris was behind at one stage, Sainz told Ferrari: “Yeah, it’s on purpose.”

F1’s rules allowed him use of the DRS overtaking aid, and the speed boost it gave Norris on the straights was enough to keep the McLaren driver ahead, which he did with some good defending driving four laps from the end.

Having failed to get by Norris on a couple of occasions, Russell then clipped the inside wall and went straight on into the barrier on the final lap.

That promoted Hamilton to third and Leclerc to fourth in the other Ferrari.

Verstappen finished fifth, extending his huge championship lead over Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez, who finished eighth.

Verstappen is now 151 points clear; a win Sunday would have given him the chance to wrap up the title in Japan next week. Instead, the earliest he can do it is October 8 at the Qatar Grand Prix. Red Bull has utterly dominated the season and will hope the race at Suzuka is business as usual.

Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was sixth, ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.

Liam Lawson continued his impressive start to life in F1, scoring the first points in his career in ninth.

Lawson is expected to drive again at the Japanese Grand Prix, with Daniel Ricciardo still not ready to return to racing after breaking a hand in a crash ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix.

Kevin Magnussen managed to snatch a point for Haas to reward the team for a strong weekend that had seen both cars start inside the top 10.

Hispanically Yours

Celebrating the Latino Influence

Tag Archives: Formula 1