All you need to know about F1's new team Cadillac ahead of Super Bowl launch

The arrival of Cadillac on the grid for the 2026 Formula 1 season marks the entry of a completely new team to the sport for the first time in a decade.

After much politicking, the American-owned outfit sealed final approval in March 2025 to become the 11th squad in the pit lane.

While there have been changes of team names and ownership in the last 10 years, it's the first time since Haas joined the sport in 2016 that a new entrant has started from scratch.

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They join at a hugely exciting juncture with a radical change of technical regulations for the 2026 season levelling the playing field and offering the potential for a total reset of the pecking order.

Cadillac won't officially launch their 2026 car until Super Bowl Sunday on February 8 (the early hours of February 9 in the UK), but with the first of three pre-season tests having already taken place in Barcelona, here is everything we know about them.

A controversial arrival on the grid

Cadillac's path to F1 was convoluted, with the bid - originally fronted by Michael Andretti under the famous motorsport family's name - initially facing extreme opposition from Formula One Management (FOM) and its 10 incumbent competitors.

While the FIA, F1's governing body, was always keen on adding the American-owned team and put forward the Andretti bid for final consideration in January 2024, it was rejected by FOM as F1 team bosses cited concerns over a dilution of their share of profits.

The bid was reshaped, Michael Andretti was eased out of the picture, with another of the US team's owners Dan Towriss becoming the face of what was now an entry under the Cadillac banner.

But perhaps more important was the commitment of Cadillac's parent company, US car giant General Motors, to build its own engine for the team in the future.

The situation had also threatened to get messy for Formula 1 owners Liberty Media, given the US Department of Justice had also launched an investigation into the rejection of the initial Andretti bid. The investigation went away with Cadillac's eventual approval.

It was announced in November 2024 that Cadillac had secured an agreement in principle to join the grid, before the entry was formally approved in March 2025, since when the operation to be ready for the 2026 season has been going at full steam.

Who are their drivers?

Many expected that F1's new American team would bring an American driver with them to the grid but, for now, that's not the case.

The pairing for Cadillac's first season in F1 was chosen extremely pragmatically, with veteran duo Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas plucked from free agency.

They will both be aged 36 when the season begins and bring a wealth of experience. Perez will return for his 15th season in F1 having been let go by Red Bull at the end of 2024, while Bottas is preparing for his 13th F1 campaign having spent last year as Mercedes reserve driver after being let go by Sauber.

With more than 500 grands prix between them, including 16 race victories, the pair should be well equipped to guide the new team through at least their first couple of years in the sport.

Questions remain as to how close either can get to their peak performance at their advanced ages, but both have expressed confidence in the level they will be able to deliver.

They'll be backed up by China's Zhou Guanyu, Bottas' former Sauber team-mate who spent last year as Ferrari reserve driver.

Meanwhile, American Colton Herta has been confirmed as a test driver, a role he'll fulfil while making his F2 debut in 2026 after switching from IndyCar.

Towriss explained: "It's important to us to make sure there's a pathway for an American driver into Formula 1 and we'll be working on that. But I think for this inaugural season, for what the team needs, and… what (Perez and Bottas) bring, this was the right combination for our team."

Who else have they hired?

A desire for experience also appears to have been a key factor with hires for those outside of the cockpit.

Graeme Lowdon, who was previously sporting director at former F1 team Marussia, was appointed team principal before their bid to enter F1 had even been approved.

Former Renault technical director Nick Chester was brought on board as chief technical officer, while his former Enstone colleague Pat Symonds was hired as executive engineering consultant.

Another long-time Enstone figure, Rob White, was brought on board as chief operating officer having left his role as director of operations at Alpine in 2024.

Lowdon's former Marussia colleague John McQuilliam has been hired as chief designer and will work alongside head of aerodynamics Jon Tomlison, who previously served in the same role at Williams.

Charles Leclerc's former race engineer at Ferrari, Xavier Marcos Padros, is Cadillac's chief race engineer.

When will the GM engine be ready?

Given the years of work it takes to build a competitive F1 power unit, the one that General Motors promised to manufacture to smooth a path into the sport is not slated to be ready until the 2029 season.

They've agreed a deal to use Ferrari engines until then, joining their supplier and Haas as three teams running that power unit in the sport's new era.

General Motors are building a power unit facility near their technical centre in Charlotte, North Carolina.

That will be located separately from the team's other key locations. They will be headquartered in Fishers, Indiana, but will also have a UK base near Silverstone.

What can we expect from them?

New teams have generally struggled initially in Formula 1 such is the difficulty of being competitive from scratch.

The last new F1 team, Haas, did manage to score points on debut though, but the three new outfits that joined the grid in 2010 - Caterham, Virgin Racing and HRT - were all well off the pace.

We can probably expect something in between for Cadillac given they have some experienced F1 personnel and work towards building their 2026 car has been going on for at least two years.

They've already impressed by having their first F1 car ready for the first 2026 testing event, which took place in Barcelona from January 26-30.

While Cadillac's 164 laps were the least by a team that took up its full allocation of three days of running, the achievement was highlighted by the fact that Williams didn't make it to the test, while Aston Martin only managed one full day of running.

Their best time of the week was the slowest set by any team that ran, including Aston Martin, but Lowdon seemed content as he knew a greater focus on performance would come at the two official upcoming testing events in Bahrain in February.

"The target for this week was very much shakedown - ticking off various tests and things that are more to do with reliability, and ensuring that we have a stable platform," Lowdon said after the final day of running. "Bahrain will be much more focused on performance, trying to see how fast we can actually make the cars go."

A special Super Bowl launch!

After running with a special shakedown livery in Barcelona, Cadillac are going to reveal their actual 2026 look in grand style, with an advert during Super Bowl LX on Sunday February 8.

Given the Super Bowl is only kicking off at 11.30pm UK time on Sunday night, the majority of race fans on this side of the Atlantic will have to wait until Monday morning to see the design.

The team have been teasing the launch via their social media channels, and have even shared a clip using the voice of former US President John F Kennedy.

The idea offers an exciting crossover between the two sports, and bringing F1 to the biggest night in America's sporting calendar will reassure the rest of the paddock that Cadillac can help bring in more new eyes.

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