The Cadillac team is busy preparing for their Formula 1 debut. The American racing team will become the eleventh team in the premier class in 2026. This will be the first time since 2016, the inaugural season of Haas, that more than ten teams will be on the grid. However, for Cadillac team boss Graeme Lowdon, this is not enough. Even before Cadillac has made its first meters in Formula 1, the American is advocating for a twelfth team.
Lowdon’s desire for a twelfth team on the grid is not entirely unrealistic, as under the current Concorde Agreement, twelve teams are allowed in Formula 1. Cadillac was not the only team vying for the coveted eleventh spot as a team in the premier class. Among others, Hitech, LkySunz, and Rodin placed bids. It’s high time for even more competition, according to Lowdon.
“It’s a world championship,” the Cadillac team boss explains to the media. “I often compare it to the Olympics. This is not a franchise sport (like the American NBA, ed.), but a real world championship, where the best in the world meet and compete against each other. The best teams, the best drivers. To me, Formula 1 is the best team sport in the world. You have a thousand players on each side, all in their place,” Lowdon refers to the engineers and mechanics of the various teams. “It’s my job to find the best thousand players and make sure they’re in the right place on the field.”
Rigorous Process
Although Lowdon is advocating for more competition from around the world within Formula 1 – ‘You can’t call Formula 1 the pinnacle of motorsport unless it’s a real world championship,’ says the team boss – he doesn’t immediately think that every team should be admitted just like that. “Building Formula 1 cars is no easy task and that’s why it’s good that the process is rigorous,” says the American, who immediately reveals that it took 764 days before Cadillac was admitted to F1. “I think to be admitted to the top of motorsport, you have to show that it is achievable. And I think in the interest of the fans, the grid should be full.”
