Cadillac F1, after Perez the boss also raises the stakes: “Unlimited ambitions, we will succeed”
Team principal Graeme Lowdon is not placing any limits on expectations ahead of Cadillac’s very first Formula 1 season, convinced that the engineers and specialists hired from other teams can already form a group capable of fighting on track.
Cadillac raises expectations for its 2026 F1 debut
On one side are the rumours surrounding the potential supremacy of the 2026 Mercedes power unit, and on the other the reality that, for now, nobody truly knows who will be leading once the radically new Formula 1 cars of next season hit the track. It is in this climate that Cadillac — set to make its official F1 paddock debut at the first closed-door test in Barcelona at the end of January — intends to insert itself into the fight. After the optimistic words of Sergio Perez, who after his first outing at Imola in a fully black Ferrari SF-23 said the team “will surprise many people”, it is now boss Graeme Lowdon who is raising the level of expectation.
Graeme Lowdon speaks
“At the moment it is impossible for me to make predictions about next year’s championship,” explained Graeme Lowdon, quoted by the American magazine Racer. The Cadillac team principal has limited past F1 experience from his time with Virgin and Marussia between 2010 and 2015. “The same goes for every driver on the grid. I believe that no one knows where they will be next year and, if someone claims they do, they are making it up! But we do have some clear goals for the 2026 season — we must have everything ready. How will we operate? And how much will we manage to extract from the targets we have set for ourselves? With the support we have, both financially and in terms of technology, vision and everything else, we have already said that our ambitions are unlimited. And they must be.”
“Regardless of where we start next year,” he continued, “while staying within the budget cap we want to develop our project in a constructive way. I know that every team will say the same thing, but this is the reality. We were created with this bold ambition in mind. I know how difficult Formula 1 is, and that you cannot simply show up and think you will beat teams that have been doing this for years and years, because there are teams that are extremely strong at what they do, and we have enormous respect for them. But we are hiring good people and, if we operate well, we will also build a strong team. The way we are structured is very clear — we are not here just to follow the others but to genuinely try to build a successful Cadillac team in Formula 1. That is my objective.” – the Cadillac team boss concluded.
With experienced names already being poached from rival teams and the full might of General Motors behind the project, Cadillac is sending a loud message: the eleventh team doesn’t plan on spending long at the back of the grid.
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