Jack Aitken replaces Jenson Button in Cadillac’s 2026 WEC line-up

Former Formula One player Jack Aitken will join the Cadillac World Endurance Championship team next year, replacing a retired player. Jenson Button at the Jota factory team.

Aitken, who has represented the GM marque in the IMSA SportsCar Championship since 2023, will share the No. 38 Cadillac V-Series.R with the current field. Earl Bamber And Sebastien Bourdais.

This will be the Briton's first full campaign in the WEC, although he has already competed four times at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, including three with Cadillac in the hypercar class.

The 30-year-old began integrating into the Jota team at the rookie test in Bahrain last weekend, where he shared a car with Ricky Taylor.

Aitken will combine his recently announced WEC commitments with another campaign in the IMSA GTP division after finishing second in the championship this year. He will team up with Bamber again in Action Express Racing's Cadillac LMDh, with Mercedes F1 reserve Frederic Vesti joining the duo in the endurance event.

Wednesday's announcement almost certainly means Aitken will not return to the DTM for a fourth campaign with Emil Frey Racing in 2026.

“I am very grateful to Cadillac for this trust and are willing to give me this opportunity,” Aitken said.

“For me personally it's very exciting because I've never raced in the WEC and I've never raced with JOTA, although we've come close a couple of times and we've had a relationship that is now coming to fruition. They have fantastic people – from the drivers to the staff – and they're a team that has had success in the WEC.”

“I'm really excited to try and take what I learned in IMSA at Action Express and apply it to try to move forward. I'm excited to start the year and double down on my time with the Cadillac V-Series.R.”

Aitken's arrival is the only change to the Jota/Cadillac driver line-up in the WEC. Alex Lynn, Norman Nato And Will Stevens remaining as a trio in recording No. 12.

Lynn has represented Cadillac as a works driver since the final year of the IMSA DPi era in 2022, while Stevens has a long-standing relationship with Jota dating back to its LMP2 days. NATO first joined Jota in 2024 when it placed a pair of Porsche 963s on order.

Jota and Cadillac have been looking for a new driver to replace Button since it became clear that the 2009 Formula 1 champion would retire from professional motorsport at the end of his two-year contract with the team.

Several drivers, including the 2019–2020 Formula E champion. Antonio Felix da Costa and current Alpine driver Mick Schumacher were considered for the vacant seat before Jota/Cadilla ultimately chose Aitken.

Schumacher was close to agreeing a joint program with Cadillac that would have seen him join the American marque's new Formula One team as a reserve driver, but the deal fell through before the WEC visit to Austin in September.

“We are thrilled to welcome Jack Aitken to the 2026 JOTA WEC Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA driver line-up. Jack brings exceptional speed, technical acumen and a fierce competitive spirit that is a perfect complement to the team,” said Cadillac Racing Program Manager Keely Bosne.

“Our 2026 lineup truly reflects the strength of continuity. With drivers competing in both IMSA and WEC, we are creating a unified program that drives overall performance and development. I am truly excited about the depth, talent and energy this lineup will bring to the upcoming season.”

We need your opinion!

– Motorsport.com Team