Cadillac is accelerating its preparations for its Formula 1 debut in 2026. The new American team aims to send its first car onto the track before the winter tests in Barcelona, as confirmed by team boss Graeme Lowdon during the race weekend in São Paulo. Driver Sergio Pérez has already tested for Cadillac, but had to borrow an SF-23 from engine supplier Ferrari for this purpose.
The new Cadillac team will join the Formula 1 grid as the eleventh team next year. The team partly consists of familiar faces: multiple race winners Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Pérez have been contracted. This experienced line-up is intended to ensure that Cadillac is competitive from the outset. The team hopes to make the first miles with its own Formula 1 car soon. The schedule is tight, confirmed Graeme Lowdon.
‘Time is the Enemy’
“Everything is on schedule,” said the team boss. “In less than fifty days, we will start the engine for the first time. This will be followed by a first ride in January, and then the test days in Barcelona.” At the end of January, all Formula 1 teams will travel to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for an extensive private test. The time pressure is enormous, Lowdon emphasized. “Time is the biggest enemy in a project like this. We know that we have to be in Melbourne in the first week of March. That deadline cannot be moved.””There is so much to do,” he continued. “Our registration was only confirmed in March 2025, so the margin is very tight. During that time, we had to not only build the car but also produce, design, hire staff, and get our facilities in order. It’s a massive challenge.”
While Cadillac is assembling its own Formula 1 car, Sergio Pérez was already completing a two-day test in a Ferrari this week. The Scuderia will supply the engines for the American team until 2028 and therefore provided an SF-23 at Imola. Photos show Pérez, dressed entirely in black, driving the likewise black Ferrari. “I love getting everything into motion,” he responded on F1.com. “The timing is perfect, as it’s just before the tests in January. During these two days, I want to see what I can physically improve. It gives me a good guideline for the winter, so I can focus on that.”
