Cadillac is the first fully new team since Haas joined in 2016, and the eleventh outfit on the 2026 grid. The road there was long and bumpy: originally, former Formula One driver Michael Andretti drove the project forward together with General Motors, but the bid initially stalled against resistance from the sport’s commercial rights holders. Only once Andretti stepped back and General Motors took over the project entirely did it receive the green light for Formula One under the Cadillac brand name.
A distinctive feature of the team is its structure spanning three locations: operations are based in Fishers, Indiana, complemented by a further site in Charlotte, North Carolina, as well as a European technology centre right next to Silverstone Circuit in the UK. For the reveal of its striking black-and-white livery, the team spared no expense, airing an elaborate commercial during the Super Bowl that used excerpts from John F. Kennedy’s famous 1962 “Moon Speech.”
On track, Cadillac is betting on experience from the outset rather than a pure rookie project: with Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez, the team signed two former championship runners-up who together bring more than 500 Grand Prix starts and 16 race wins. The outfit is led by team principal Graeme Lowdon, who previously oversaw the build-up of the Virgin team back in 2010, giving him first-hand experience of building a Formula One team from the ground up.
On the engine side, Cadillac initially relies on Ferrari power units, before switching to its own General Motors engine from 2029. As a completely new project with no Formula One history whatsoever, the team naturally entered the 2026 season with modest expectations, but openly pursues the goal of establishing itself as a serious championship contender in the long run.
Cadillac in the News