Cadillac F1 team wins for the first time as the car debuts in 2026 at the Silverstone shakedown ahead of pre-season testing | F1 News

The new Cadillac team gave its first Formula 1 car a debut at Silverstone on Friday.

Sergio Perez drove the car as his Mexican team-mate Valtteri Bottas watched on from the road, with CEO Dan Towriss also at the historic event.

The team posted a short video on social media of the car, shot from a distance, going down the ditch towards wet Silverstone, before later sharing the image.

Perez said: “Today was a truly amazing day. Everyone should feel proud to finish our first races as a team. Everyone has worked so hard to get to this point and it was great to be part of motoring history.

“We can, and should, all enjoy it, but it’s really fired me up for more. I just want to get the mileage back – this is just the beginning.”

The first contender for the General Motors-backed outfit is powered by Ferrari engines, meaning the record-setting shakedown will be the first time the Italian manufacturer’s new 2026 engine for F1’s revised rules will work properly again.

Cadillac is the second team to complete a shakedown ahead of the first pre-season test – in Barcelona from January 26-30 – after the revamped Audi team raced its new rival at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya last week.

Perez and Bottas make up the team’s most experienced driver line-up, race-winning veterans returning to the grid after spending the past year on the sidelines.

Earlier this week the American-owned team revealed that their car will be tested in Barcelona.

It’s a bare carbon design that features the Cadillac logo spread across the rear of the car, while the names of the team’s founding members are emblazoned across the chassis.

The team’s final livery, which will be used in the final two test events in Bahrain and the 2026 season, is unveiled during the Super Bowl on February 8.

Cadillac has become F1’s 11th team and is the first newcomer to enter the grid since Haas in 2016.

Lowdon happy with Cadillac’s progress on ’emotional’ day

Said Cadillac group principal Graeme Lowdon Sky Sports News the historic moment was an “emotional” experience for the entire team after years of hard work.

“It was really emotional,” he said. “We’re dealing with mechanical things here, but really it’s a reflection of all the hard work that everyone has put in.

“All those late nights and late nights and early mornings, on this side of the Atlantic in the Silverstone locations and across the Atlantic in Indianapolis and Charlotte, and all our colleagues at General Motors and TWG.

“So, it was actually quite emotional. There were real emotions for everybody, as they should be, because it’s just a big, hard job.”

Although he admitted that Friday’s run was not without its challenges, Lowdon said he was happy with the progress made.

“Unfortunately, you never really plan much, because there are so many unknowns,” she said. “This is the first time that this car has hit a tire.

“But the important thing is that we achieved the important things that we wanted to achieve, which was to get out there, get the belts under our belts, start collecting the most important information, and then start this road towards the race in Melbourne, and that’s just around the corner.”

When is F1 pre-season testing?

The introduction of the new rules means there is a tight schedule of three separate test events before the start of the 2026 season.

The first is a closed event in Barcelona from January 26-30, before two tests follow in Bahrain from February 11-13 and 18-20.

When is the first F1 race?

The teams then have two weeks to prepare for the opening round of the season, which is the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne from March 6-8.

The first practice sessions of the season will take place on Friday 6 March, with Qualifying on Saturday 7 March and the opening race on Sunday 8 March.

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