Cadillac became Formula 1’s 11th team in 2026, and the first new entry since Haas arrived back in 2016. The project grew out of Andretti Global’s bid, which the FIA approved but Formula One Management rejected in early 2024. It returned in a different form, with General Motors and TWG Motorsports as partners.
Ferrari supplies engines and gearboxes until GM’s own power unit, already approved by the FIA, arrives in 2029. For its debut season the team chose experience over youth, signing Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas on deals running to at least the end of 2027. Between them they brought 16 grand prix wins and more than 500 starts. Zhou Guanyu and IndyCar star Colton Herta joined in support roles.
The first season has been tough: Pérez finished the opener in Melbourne three laps down, though both cars reached the flag at Suzuka, where Pérez also out-qualified both Aston Martins. Bottas’ 13th in China remains the team’s best result.
The nearest miss came in Monaco. Pérez crossed the line tenth after Nico Hülkenberg was penalised, only to be hit with a ten-second penalty of his own for being out of position at the final restart. That dropped him to 15th, cost Cadillac what would have been its first point, and handed it to Fernando Alonso instead. Reliability has been an issue too: Bottas retired from six of 12 races.
There’s been some change at the top – even in its first year: CEO Dan Towriss removed Lowdon in August, with the team calling it a planned transition, and replaced him with former Alpine executive director Marcin Budkowski.
Progress has been slow: Pérez came home 14th in Baku from 20th on the grid, but after 15 rounds Cadillac remains the only team without a point. Still, in the grand scheme of things, Cadillac is doing incredibly well for a new team: most in the modern era have taken far longer than one season to trouble the top ten, and Cadillac has pretty much done that – if you ignore its penalty in Monaco.
