Team

Cadillac F1 Team

Base

Charlotte, USA

Power unit

Ferrari

2026 standing

P110 pts

Team principal

Graeme Lowdon

Age

Nationality

British

In role since

2024

Est. net worth

Unknown

Marital status

Unknown

Graeme Paul Lowdon is a British businessman and entrepreneur born in Corbridge, Northumberland. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical engineering from Sheffield University and an MBA from Newcastle University, and began his career at ABB Group before founding tech and motorsport ventures including Nomad Digital. He entered F1 management via Manor Motorsport, leveraging Virgin Group links to create Virgin Racing, and served as CEO through its Marussia era until departing in 2015. He later oversaw Manor's WEC programme and acted as an adviser to the Cadillac project before being formally appointed team principal in December 2024, making him one of the very few people with prior experience of building an F1 team from scratch.

Sources: [1][2][3][4][5][6]

Answer

Cadillac is one of two new entrants to Formula 1 in 2026, joining as the 11th team on the grid alongside Audi (the renamed Sauber operation). The team races under General Motors' luxury brand and runs Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez, both former Mercedes/Red Bull drivers with race-winning experience. Based in Charlotte, USA, Cadillac is the first new American constructor in F1 since Haas joined in 2016.

2026 storyline

Cadillac's 2026 debut season is the most-watched new-team entry in F1 since the 2010 wave that included Lotus, Virgin, and HRT. The team's preparation has been multi-year (rooted in the original Andretti-General Motors bid for an F1 entry) and the launch enters the grid in the same season as a major regulation reset, which historically narrows the gap between established and new teams.

Driver selection has been pragmatic rather than aspirational. Bottas (former Mercedes, 10 race wins) and Perez (former Red Bull, race winner and 2023 Constructors' Championship driver) bring race-winning experience and large-team feedback discipline. The pairing is a "stabilise the new entry" choice rather than a "develop the next champion" choice.

A reasonable 2026 expectation for Cadillac is to compete with Williams, Haas, and Alpine for Constructors' positions in the 6-10 range. Points finishes from race one would be a strong outcome; a podium would be remarkable. Beating any of the established mid-field teams over a full season would validate the entry strategy.

Background

Base: Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
Power unit: Ferrari (customer engine for 2026; in-house GM-developed unit planned for later seasons)
Team principal: see team's official site for current leadership
Entered F1 in 2026 as the 11th team on the grid^[1]

The Andretti connection

The Cadillac entry has its roots in the Andretti Global organisation's multi-year campaign to add a new American constructor to F1. The original Andretti-GM bid was initially rejected by F1's commercial rights holder in 2024 before being re-evaluated and approved under modified terms. The final entry name (Cadillac F1 Team rather than Andretti) reflects the commercial rebrand around General Motors' luxury division^[1].

Driver lineup

Valtteri Bottas: Finnish, BOT, 10-time Grand Prix winner with Mercedes (2017-2021). Most recently at Kick Sauber.
Sergio Perez: Mexican, PER, six-time Grand Prix winner with Red Bull and Force India. Most recently a Red Bull driver during the 2022-2024 Constructors' Championship runs.

What success looks like in year one

For a new-team debut season, success metrics are realistic:

Both cars finishing every race they enter (reliability is harder than pace in year one).
Points finishes by mid-season as the car develops.
Beating at least one established team over the season.
Building the operational machinery (pit crew, strategy team, factory development pipeline) that becomes the foundation for years two and three.

2026 driver lineup

Valtteri Bottas

BOT · FinlandP200 pts

Sources