Cadillac to test F1 car from rival team ahead of 2026 debut

The Cadillac Formula 1 team has revealed it is planning to use a rival squad to help with the completion of a Testing of Previous Cars programme ahead of its championship debut in 2026.

TPC programmes allow teams to complete up to 20 days of running in machinery that is at least two years old, a requirement that Cadillac cannot meet on its own as a new squad.

After announcing its 2026 driver line-up of Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez, team principal Graeme Lowdon revealed Cadillac’s TPC plan for this year. 

Although he didn’t specify which rival team it will use, Ferrari is the most likely solution as the Italian marque will power Cadillac cars until it uses its own F1 engines from 2029. 

“We'll be introducing car testing as well this year,” said Lowdon, who was previously CEO of the now-defunct Virgin/Marussia F1 team. “Obviously, we have to work with others to be able to do that, but that's perfectly allowable under the regulations.

Graeme Lowdon, Team Principal of Cadillac Formula 1 Team

Photo by: James Sutton / Motorsport Images

“We just have a plan to steadily build up so that when we get to Melbourne, we hit the ground running.

“The drivers themselves play such an important part in it. The one thing I can tell you, just spending time with them is – again, I don't want to put words in their mouths, but there's a huge amount of enthusiasm to get going.”

Although Cadillac’s TPC plan is not yet finalised, Lowdon said there are still other ways it can prepare for its debut at the Australian Grand Prix on 6-8 March. 

“We don't have a TPC car or a current car that we can operate, but we are already simulating race events,” he said. 

“The next one that we're doing is Monza and we simulate it as if it is a complete race weekend from start to finish with full integration of everybody in the team from Thursday all the way through to Sunday.

“We've got a very clear plan in our build-up to Melbourne next year and it doesn't involve just simulating races, which is really important.

“The last one we simulated, we probably had 50 or 60 engineering people fully involved over the whole weekend, both in the UK and the US, all getting used to working with each other.”

That includes working with the drivers, and although 10-time grand prix winner Bottas is currently a Mercedes reserve, Lowdon said he is working with the Silver Arrows to organise a handover date.

For Perez, it is easier, as he has been without work since leaving Red Bull at the end of the 2024 campaign and is now fully focused on preparing for his F1 comeback. 

“I'm definitely planning a factory visit very soon,” said the six-time grand prix victor. “We are already in touch with the things that I want to put some input into. That time is just now.

“I will definitely be in contact with the team very regularly and visiting them. I'm also looking forward to see if we can do some driving as well this year, before the end of the year. Just to get myself up to speed again, because I want to be as ready as possible for when the winter testing starts.”