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Sergio Perez will be back on the Formula 1 grid in 2026, but this time as part of an all-new project. Cadillac, backed by General Motors, will enter the championship as the sport’s 11th team. The team's debut campaign will feature two proven race winners, Perez and Valtteri Bottas, in a pairing that brings a combined 527 starts and 16 Grand Prix victories.
The American team confirmed its lineup, putting an end to months of speculation. For Cadillac, experience was the priority. Bottas and Perez offer the credibility and know-how required to launch a new operation, while 25-year-old Colton Herta will serve as reserve as he transitions from IndyCar.
Leading the team is Graeme Lowdon, who spoke on the Beyond The Grid podcast about what matters most as Cadillac prepares for its first season. For him, results come second to culture.
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"Two things will make me really, really happy next year. One is to have the respect from competition. Because you earn that respect, and it means that if we have respect for the others, that’s for sure these are top teams. So, we would like to have reached a position where they respect us because that’s a reflection of doing a good job. Secondly, we want to execute everything that we do to the absolute maximum. We don’t want to make mistakes. We don’t want to leave any performance on the table," Lowdon said. (55:12 onwards)
The car is being built across Charlotte in the United States and Silverstone in the UK. Ferrari is supplying the power unit, gearbox, and suspension until Cadillac’s own GM-developed engine arrives in 2029. Alongside that, partnerships with Tommy Hilfiger and Mobil 1 mark a strong commercial start.
The last two decades have seen teams like Lotus, Caterham, Marussia, Force India, Sauber, and Renault all leave or rebrand. Cadillac intends to build a strong foundation that doesn’t vanish after a few seasons. And they are counting on the two veterans to set that tone from the cockpit.
"We want to earn our respect. We want to execute well, and then we want to we want to grow and compete," Lowdon summed it up.
Sergio Perez's last F1 campaign came in 2024 at Red Bull. While he managed 140 points, it proved his weakest year at Milton Keynes. He was replaced by Liam Lawson for 2025 and has spent the year away from the grid. Returning sharp after such a gap won’t be easy, but Cadillac believes his experience still matters.
"We’ve got a program": Graeme Lowdon plans Sergio Perez’s Ferrari outing
The 2026 car is still in development, but Cadillac will use Ferrari’s SF-23 under F1’s Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) program to help Sergio Perez re-adapt to the sport. The rules allow new entrants to run machinery at least two years old without breaking development restrictions. For Graeme Lowdon, it’s not the car that matters, but the process.
"Checo (Sergio Perez) hasn’t had the benefit of being in the paddock the whole time like Valtteri. But again, we’ve got a program that we’re planning to just involve him in a lot more in the technical side because we can, because he’s not contracted to another team. So I think there’ll be a catch up on that side pretty quick," Lowdon said.
Cadillac is using Silverstone and Charlotte as training grounds with around 70 on-site staff, running live rehearsals to mimic Grand Prix weekends. That approach fits Cadillac’s timing. The 2026 regulations will reset the grid, forcing every team to build from scratch under new rules. Unlike past new entrants, Cadillac won’t have to catch up to established machinery, they’ll line up on level footing.
After a year away, Sergio Perez needs to feel the rhythm of a race car again, to rebuild the muscle memory that can’t be simulated. For Cadillac, it’s about proving that the team can operate smoothly in a race-like environment.
