Cadillac shakes down first F1 car in Silverstone test

Sergio Perez was behind the wheel of Cadillac's first F1 car in a shakedown at Silverstone on Friday

The Cadillac Formula 1 team took to the Silverstone circuit to shakedown its 2026 car for the first time on Friday.

Cadillac will join the F1 grid as its 11th team in 2026, and ahead of its debut completed a filming day at the British Grand Prix track with Mexican driver Sergio Perez at the wheel.

Perez was joined by team-mate Valtteri Bottas and reserve driver Zhou Guanyu to carry out the shakedown of the American single-seater. Cadillac shared a clip of its first F1 racer running on track, which also offered a preview of the engine note of its Ferrari power unit.

In addition, Zhou also uploaded a video showing himself wearing the Cadillac team kit, while obscuring any image of the car, which will be revealed in a Super Bowl advert next month ahead of the first of F1’s two Bahrain test sessions.

In fact, Cadillac reportedly placed stickers over the phone cameras of anyone who could leak images of the car – with exceptions made for the team’s own filming crew. However, some long-distance images of the car in the Silverstone garages have already appeared on social media.

As well as issues with prying eyes around the Northamptonshire track, Cadillac also reportedly experienced difficulties running in the morning. However, it later managed to fire up the engine and began lapping a track that was made more challenging by the weather at Silverstone.

Perez called the shakedown an emotional moment for him and the team which has “fired me up for more”.

Sergio Perez, Cadillac

Photo by: Cadillac Communications

“Today was really an amazing day. Everyone should feel incredibly proud to complete our first laps as a team,” he said.

“Each and every person has worked so hard to get to this moment and it was emotional to be part of motorsport history. We can, and should, all enjoy, but it’s absolutely fired me up for more. I just want to get back in and get mileage – this is just the start.”

Earlier this week the six-time grand prix winner travelled to the team’s base to address technical aspects of the car this week before its first outing. Team-mate Bottas also shared on social media that he had been at the team’s base for a seat fit this week.

Cadillac’s on-track debut follows a similar shakedown event for Audi, which has taken over the Sauber team for 2026. The team hosted a filming day at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya last week.

In tests such as this, teams are permitted to run up to 200km and must use different tyre compounds from Pirelli compared with the rubber that will be available at the pre-season tests and during the F1 season.

Dan Towriss, Cadillac F1 team CEO, said: "Today's shakedown is a significant step for the Cadillac Formula 1 Team. Watching the car roll out of the garage is a moment of pride.

"The first laps on track mark a historic milestone; the culmination of thousands of hours of work, driven by pure passion. Graeme [Lowdon] has done an outstanding job of assembling a team of absolute racers that have given everything to get to this moment.

"This is just the beginning, as our work continues at pace towards Melbourne and beyond."