Cadillac sets timeline for first run of its own F1 car

Cadillac will give its first Formula 1 car a maiden run before the Barcelona pre-season test, which is taking place from 26-30 January, provided everything goes to plan.

Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas’ Ferrari-powered machine is set for an initial engine fire-up “in less than 50 days”, team principal Graeme Lowdon said on Friday at the Brazil Grand Prix – in other words, before Christmas.

The car’s first track test – likely a shakedown sanctioned by the ‘Promotional Event’ regulations – is scheduled for January. Cadillac could then cover up to 200km with its new machinery.

“Everything is on schedule,” Lowdon said. “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.”

The Briton did acknowledge that meeting all deadlines would be no easy feat for Cadillac, with the team’s preparations well under way at its US and UK bases.

“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,” Lowdon added.

“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.”

Initiated as Andretti, the Cadillac project took years to be green-lighted by both the FIA and F1, and the team’s debut ends up coinciding with next year’s major technical overhaul in regulations – which Lowdon says “there are pros and cons” about.

“The downside is that when the rules are stable, you clearly know what your target is, because today, for example, we know McLaren is competitive, and so is Ferrari,” he explained. “But for 2026, no one knows who will be fast. The disadvantage is that you don’t have a clear reference point, but well, this is sport, and that’s what keeps the fans engaged.

“The advantage for us is that with this major regulation change, all teams face a new challenge, including ours. No one knows where they’ll be. If you ask any team principal, they won’t know either. That’s the exciting part: we don’t know where we’ll be.

“Our challenge is bigger than the others because we have to do much more in a shorter time. We have thousands of combined years of F1 experience among the staff, but less than a year working together as a team.

“That will be the first challenge – to make the team operate smoothly. And after that, no matter where we start, the important thing will be how quickly we can improve. That will be our focus. So overall, I think it’s an advantage to enter during a rule change.”

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— The Autosport.com Team