Cadillac’s first season in Formula 1 is approaching fast – very fast – and team principal Graeme Lowdon isn’t pretending otherwise.
With the American outfit set to join the grid under the new 2026 regulations, the team is deep into a whirlwind build-up that includes everything from factory construction to the final details of its all-new challenger.
But despite the enormous workload, Lowdon insists “everything is on schedule”, although with just weeks left before the team’s first major milestones, the clock has never ticked louder.
A First Fire-Up Before Christmas
Cadillac plans to complete their maiden engine fire-up before the holidays – a symbolic moment for any new F1 operation – and then turn their attention to the new car’s debut run.
“In fact, we’ll fire up the engine for the first time in less than 50 days, and the car will run for the first time in January next year. After that, we’ll go testing at the end of January in Barcelona,” commented Lowdon, speaking last weekend in Barcelona.
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The initial shakedown will take place before the official behind-closed-doors pre-season test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, scheduled for 26–30 January 2026. It will mark the first public glimpse of the car that Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Pérez will campaign in Cadillac’s rookie season.
But even with the programme running smoothly, Lowdon is under no illusions about the scale of the American outfit’s undertaking.
“Time is the enemy in a project like this, because we know we’ll be racing in Melbourne the first week of March 2026, and that deadline can’t be extended,” he said.
“There’s so much to do. Our entry was only confirmed in March 2025, so the margin is very tight. In that time, we must not only build the car but also manufacture it, design it, hire personnel, build the factories – everything. It’s a real challenge.”
Pérez Back in Action at Imola
This week brought another milestone as Sergio Pérez and Cadillac had their first run together – albeit in borrowed machinery. The Mexican driver was back behind the wheel of an F1 car for the first time in nearly a year during a two-day private test at Imola, driving a 2023-spec Ferrari provided by the Scuderia.
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With Cadillac still assembling their first chassis, the arrangement with Ferrari – who will supply the team’s engines for their debut season – provided crucial track time for Pérez as he reacclimates to modern F1 machinery. The outing also marked a practical step forward for Cadillac as they accelerate operations ahead of their 2026 debut.
As the team pushes toward its first real on-track appearance this January, the momentum is unmistakable. And if Lowdon’s confidence is any indication, Cadillac’s high-speed arrival in Formula 1 is shaping up to be one of the most intriguing storylines of the new era.
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