American driver Jak Crawford said it would be a "missed opportunity" for Cadillac if he won this year's Formula 2 championship and did not get a seat at their new Formula 1 team.
Cadillac, set to become F1's 11th team in 2026, are yet to announce its driver line-up.
Sources have told ESPN race winners Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas top Cadillac's list, but both may have interest from Alpine too.
Charlotte-born Crawford, 20, is currently second in the Formula 2 feeder series which races as a support event on F1 weekends.
Cadillac had previously stated a desire to have an American driver involved in some way and Crawford would seem the most likely candidate.
"You know, it's hard to tell what they want," Crawford told ESPN's Unlapped podcast about his conversations with Cadillac so far. "I've heard that they want an American driver in the seat at some point.
"I think looking at it from my side, if I was to win the championship in F2 or finish very high, I feel like it would almost be a missed opportunity to not have an American driver in the seat.
"Of course, at the beginning maybe [for Cadillac] it's not ideal ... but obviously speaking for me, that's how I see it."
Although the prospect of a rookie at a new team might seem unlikely, F1 teams are increasingly turning to young talent -- this season has five full-time rookies on the grid.
Cadillac boss Graeme Lowdon has said deciding on the team's driver lineup is low on the priority list while the rest of the operation gets up to speed.
As well as the obvious candidates, Lowdon has made a point of talking to as many drivers as possible -- he manages Guanyu Zhou and has sounded out the likes of Crawford, Mick Schumacher and Mercedes reserve Fred Vesti.
"That's the same thing that they've told me and I'm sure all the other drivers that are trying to get into the seat," Crawford said. "The last thing they're worried about is the drivers.
"So it's a big, big waiting game. It doesn't feel like there's much anyone can do at the moment, which as a driver sucks. You're just kind of in limbo.
"It's definitely not something I'm worrying about, let's say, getting myself in front of the Cadillac guys at the moment.
"My manager has been in talks with them for the most part. It's not been necessary to have lots of chats at the moment from my side. The focus is on F2 stuff because that's, you know, the most important bit and that's the bit that's going to get me an F1 seat," he said.
Crawford, a former member of the Red Bull junior programme and a current Aston Martin development driver, has another natural link to Cadillac beyond his nationality.
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The incoming team's journey to Formula 1 started as a bid under the Andretti name -- it is still fronted by the TWG Motorsports group which runs Andretti's Formula E team.
Last year Crawford became reserve driver for that Andretti FE team and has taken part in test events in that role.
"That's quite an easy link for me," he said. "It's been also quite easy to make conversation because of that. I'm already part of the family, let's say, just because I already joined the Formula E project back at the end of last year.
"So it's quite an easy link. And you know, it was actually perfect timing, if I look back on it, when I joined Andretti. I think it was back in October and then of course the F1 stuff, without anyone's knowledge, was announced at the end of November."
Cadillac has already announced its journey to the first race of 2026 is being showcased in a Disney+ documentary starring Hollywood star Keanu Reeves.