The New (old) Kids on the Block: Cadillac F1

Cadillac "Shakedown" Livery

A look at the newest Team to enter the Formula One Championship.

Its exciting to get to see moments in the sport that will become historic points in Formula One. Cadillac will become the eleventh team on the F1 grid in 2026. There hasn't been an eleventh team in over 10 years. 2016 was the last year of the Manor/Marussia team. Cadillac will now step in as the newest entry and the final team in the lineup.

One of the things an Andretti lead, GM built*, Cadillac titled, race team bring is a new American identity in a quintessentially high brow European centric sport culture. General Motors (GM) is the core of the American motor industry and Cadillac is perhaps the most iconic American luxury brands. Its gives a growing American audience a true home team to root for. Yes, Ford is now associated in formula one this year, but that's Ford Europe and they are building engines for Red Bull. Hass is also technically based in North Carolina, but from the get go they have built and association with Ferrari and aside from Gene Hass' NASCAR ties they have not really appealed to the American demographic. This may be where Cadillac carve their fanbase. In a post 'Drive to Survive' era of F1 fandom, where fans are now capable of following drivers that are not necessarily consistent frontrunners and more readily understand the value of a 10th place finish and what a single point can mean. Cadillac can be a bit more comfortable with how far down they may place on the grid so long as they are on it. Having been a fan of this sport for a long time, I am really looking forward to being a fan of my new home team.

Now who does this new American team bring to pilot the GM machinery? With more than 500 race starts between them and 100 or so podium appearances. The driver lineup Cadillac brings is one of "experience." Both drivers are multi race winners and will try to bring those skills to their brand new outfit. Valtteri Bottas and Sergio “Checo” Pérez are the drivers tapped to fill the seats for the eleventh team. The move to hire two veteran drivers to help develop a program starting from scratch on an extremely short, ground up development, has to be something that will prove helpful. The two drivers are most famously known as being some of the greatest support teammates in Formula One. It will be interesting to see if a "dominant" driver emerges, but I doubt it will ever become and issue. The focus will be full time on development. The drivers do both come with their own loyal fanbases and that's a huge bonus for Cadillac. Valtteri, post Mercedes, grew his mullet and media presence. The Finnish, honorary Australian, became a fan favorite, with his antics and naked calendars. During his stint with the Sauber team and most recently as the Mercedes test and reserve driver, he blossomed and put his certain brand of fun on display. Checo brings a diehard Mexican fan base as well as a large Mexican financial base. The driver selection makes a lot of sense from both a development and marketing standpoint. Cadillac is a recognizable brand in most of North America and the crowds in Mexico and America will easily latch on to the team. The argument against this driver selection is "Why not use the model of one experienced driver and one rookie?" The real answer is that they simply cant afford it. A young driver doesn't offer the set-up experience that a new team will have to lean on. All of the mechanics in the garage are going to be learning where their new toolboxes are, adding an inexperienced driver not understanding how to manage car adjustments will only double the amount of obstacles. New young drivers also statistically have a propensity to crash more often. The team isn't going to be able to afford building replacement parts during a race to develop a brand new car. Cadillac made the right call in picking the two most experienced drivers available.

So now that the drivers are selected, who's running this show? That duty will fall to newly appointed Team Principal Graeme Lowdon. He formerly served as the Sporting Director of the Marussia F1 team, the last "eleventh team" until 2016. Lowdon should hopefully bridge the gap, and bring an American grassroots racing ideology to compete on a global stage in the premier racing series.

Some other notable additions to the Cadillac program are its test and reserve drivers. The new reserve driver is Zhou Guanyu. The former Sauber teammate and Ferrari reserve will serve as a backup and test driver for the team. His former manager, Graeme Lowdon, also probably made the selection process a bit easier. He does however I think help the overall picture. Zhou is an experienced driver that comes at a low cost with a significant financial backing, things that a brand new team will value.

The more Interesting hire is test driver, American, Colton Herta. If your not familiar with Herta, its because until now he had not been affiliated with Formula One. Colton raced with the Andretti Indy car team, and in 2024 took second in the Indy Car Championship. Herta will race in the 2026 F2 Championship to gain his super license. This looks like the pick that is put in place to stage a future American driver on the American team.

As far as the car goes, the new 2026 F1 season is still largely an unknown. New regulations, new teams hopefully maybe some shakeups down the grid. The GM built Cadillac chassis is still to be tested and if we are being honest, it will likely still be testing all season long. Every race will be a step into the unknown. The team has entered into an agreement with Ferrari to provide power units through 2028 and GM will provide its own P/U for the 2029 season onward. The positive note is that this does free up development time and money to put into the rest of the car program. Lowdon has already made a statement to the FIA that the team will likely struggle in its maiden season. The primary focus for Cadillac is going to be how close can they get. If they are in a competitive race for tenth place then it will be a success.

So what is it going to take to be a Cadillac fan in 2026? Patience for one. Cadillac is doing something new and its going to take time. The first years will be filled with growing pains and there exists a real possibility that the best we will see is an occasional not last. The payoff moves will hopefully come in season three or four. The deals with Checo and Bottas will have run out and Herta will have hopefully had success in F2. The next thing will be bringing and American lead driver in an American powered, American built car to the modern F1 grid. It may still have its best days as a competitive midfielder, but it will symbolize something that hasn't happened before. With three races in the United States and an ever growing American fan demographic Formula One is dangerously close to becoming popular. Cadillac might just be the next step to get it there. So don't lament over the timing sheets but marvel in ground being broken. I am going to root for the new home team in 2026, I think you should too.