Cadillac Gains Early Edge from Bottas, Perez Experience

Cadillac's new Formula 1 team is leveraging the deep experience of drivers Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez to fast-track its development, with team principal Graeme Lowdon stating their feedback is providing an immediate and accurate baseline for the fledgling operation.

Why it matters:

For a brand-new constructor, establishing a competitive car from a blank sheet of paper is a monumental task. By hiring two veterans with experience across multiple top teams and car generations, Cadillac is strategically bypassing the typical rookie-team learning curve, aiming to turn data into performance gains much faster than traditional methods would allow.

The details:

• Lowdon emphasized that Bottas and Perez provide "super accurate, thoughtful, and valuable feedback straight away," which is critical in the time-constrained environment of pre-season testing.
• Their experience with different engineering cultures, power units, and chassis concepts allows them to instantly interpret the car's behavior and communicate effectively with Cadillac's engineers.
• This eliminates guesswork for the team, which is still defining its fundamental car setup and handling characteristics.
• Lowdon cited a specific example from testing where Bottas, on a single flying lap interrupted by a red flag, was "immediately able to switch it on," demonstrating the ready-to-perform pace the team sought.

What's next:

With a solid foundation of driver feedback setting the initial development direction, Cadillac can now focus on refining its 2026 car concept. The true test will come when the team transitions from gathering data to executing performance runs and race simulations. If the early efficiency in learning translates into on-track speed, Cadillac's experienced-driver strategy could see it making a more competitive debut than many new entrants.