Cadillac eases concerns over F1 car loan: 'We're testing a team, not a car'

With less than two months until the fire-up of Cadillac's first Formula 1 car, the series' 11th squad is currently resorting to the virtual world to both develop its maiden challenger and prepare its trackside team.

Cadillac recently announced a full complement of simulator drivers, with 2016 IndyCar champion Simon Pagenaud, Corvette works driver Charlie Eastwood and two-time F1 starter Pietro Fittipaldi sharing duties in General Motors' Charlotte simulators.

The trio has been involved in helping Cadillac conduct fully blown race weekend simulations at most grands prix since June's Barcelona round, from mission control rooms at its bases in Silverstone and Charlotte.

Colton Herta has also signed up as a development driver, while 2026 racer Sergio Perez has started working with the team in recent weeks. Cadillac will have to wait a while longer to get its hands on Perez's partner Valtteri Bottas, who is still contracted to Mercedes as a reserve.

But while Cadillac largely has its driver plans sorted out, what it is lacking right now is physical hardware, as former Manor chief Lowdon is building a team from scratch and developing a car according to the all-new 2026 regulations, which won't hit the track before January next year.

That might change soon if Lowdon has his way, and the squad is looking to conclude a deal with its 2026 engine supplier Ferrari to obtain one of its older cars. Not to test the car itself, but to test its mechanics.

"We've been looking at the testing a team can do under the TPC rules [testing of a previous car]," Lowdon told Motorsport.com on the eve of the Singapore Grand Prix.

"We don't have a previous car, but also the title is a slightly misnomer, because we don't actually need to test a car, so it doesn't really matter.

"Actually, current team testing is kind of what we're interested in. We want to use a car, because in all of the simulations that we mentioned, we try and make it as real to life as possible.

"I think everyone gets a little bit wrongly concerned, that in some way we can get an advantage by testing someone else's car or something. But we're not testing the car, we're testing the people. 

"Yes, we are looking to gain the advantage, but not from anything to do with the car. The advantages that we want is for our mechanics to have the same experience that all the mechanics in this pit lane are having every day working with each car."

Valtteri Bottas with Graeme Lowdon

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

If worse comes to worst, Cadillac could turn to one of the LMDh cars the squad is running in endurance racing to perform pitstop practice. But the American squad has left no stone unturned to simulate its F1 debut into the tiniest details, so it is looking for the closest possible match to a current F1 car as well.

"You have to get the mechanics used to that muscle memory of operating an F1 car," he explained. "You have to be able to stick tyre blankets on, and then there's just the size of a car and the heat that comes off one, and the presence that they have.

"I've been through this loop so many times in setting up a team, it's really important to try and simulate and get as near as you can to everything."

Lowdon confirmed it would "make sense" to do a deal with Ferrari, which would then involve the Italian manufacturer getting approval from the FIA to loan its car to a competitor. But given the limited requirements, it could be a much older version than a two-year old TPC car.

"We're a [Ferrari] customer, so makes sense," he acknowledged. "But as I say, we're not trying to learn anything from the car itself. I really don't really mind, as long as it's kind of right size and shape. It's just there to simulate, so I don't even care what colour it is.

"If we borrow a car off somebody, then that team needs to get the FIA to approve that we could use their car. And we involve the FIA in everything we're doing step-by-step, because we've got nothing to hide."