Cadillac team principal Graeme Lowdon is counting down the days until the team debuts in 2026. Image: XPB Images
With less than 50 days until the car’s initial fire-up, team principal Graeme Lowdon looks towards the milestone moments — seeing the car complete its first shakedown lap and finally start a grand prix — telling Speedcafe that all those moments carry an almost unparalleled emotional weight.
“Not many people get the chance to experience bringing a new team in,” he said. “Those are the two kind of really key moments.”
For Lowdon, who oversaw the formation of a new team before when he helped bring Virgin Racing to the grid in 2010, the challenge of building Cadillac’s operation from scratch is immense but exhilarating.
At their bases in both Silverstone and Charlotte, countdown clocks mark every step of the journey — clocks that also appear on the home screen of Lowdon’s phone to remind him wherever he is.
He added that the team is not only constructing cars but forging a culture, simulating entire race weekends to ensure everyone — from engineers to pit crew — functions like a well-oiled machine under pressure.
“Although we’ve got very, very experienced people in the team, this is the first time they’ve all worked together,” Lowdon explained.
“We did not want to be in a situation where people are introducing themselves to each other in Melbourne.”
Experience has been central to Cadillac’s approach, particularly when selecting drivers.
The team’s inaugural race seats will be filled by Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez, combining for over 500 grand prix starts and 16 grand prix wins.
Lowdon said the appeal of both was immediate.
“The overriding kind of sentiment that I got [from both drivers] was one of excitement,” he said.
“As a team principal, that’s really, really important. To see that the driver is excited to be involved in a project.
“I think that excitement and enthusiasm is really important to see because we are going to have tough times ahead. There’s no two ways about it.
“The challenge is huge. This is a difficult game. It’s meant to be. It’s the pinnacle of world motorsport.
“We know that the challenge is tough, and so having drivers who are excited, who want to be here and contribute and want it to be a success, is really important.”
For Bottas, who has spent 2025 embedded in the Mercedes paddock as a reserve, that excitement comes alongside a hunger to return to the cockpit full-time.
“Being on the side, you realise how cool it is and how lucky the 20 drivers are to be there,” Bottas told Speedcafe.
The Finn is already engaged in preliminary work with Cadillac, remaining in constant communication with Lowdon as well as other forms of calls such as discussing steering wheel layouts.
Despite not officially starting with the team until January, Bottas has used his time in the garage to deepen his understanding of race strategy, car dynamics, and team operations.
“I definitely see the sport in a different light,” he admits.
“All the sessions I’ve been in the garage, listening to all the coms. I definitely understand how the team actually works, behind the scenes and what goes on.
“During qualifying. During the race. It’s a much bigger understanding of what is happening in the garage and from the factory support.
“Because when you’re a driver in the car, you only have one point of contact normally, your race engineer, and you don’t hear all the stuff that’s going on.
“So this year I’ve been able to see everything. How everything works. I think that can help me, especially helping build a new team.”
Lowdon also highlighted the importance of personality and character within the team.
In a sport dominated by technology, he welcomed individuality, pointing to Bottas’ mullet and the contrasting styles of his driver lineup.
“Formula 1’s the greatest team game in the world, but it is sport, and all sport needs heroes, and the drivers are quite rightly the heroes,” he said.
“It’s good that they have depth to their character and they have colour to their story, and it’s great.
“I think it’s great that Valtteri’s individual tastes come through, as long as he doesn’t want me to get a mullet! I generally don’t care what he does with his hair as long as he’s fast. We don’t care. So it’s great.
“These guys are not robots. They’re people. They’re individuals who fans can really relate to, and I like that.”
Bottas, amused by the attention to his hairstyle, assured fans that his signature look would remain intact as he embarked on his new chapter with Cadillac.
While the drivers bring experience, the team blends seasoned professionals with fresh faces, including IndyCar winner Colton Herta, who will act as test driver while racing in F2 to gain experience on F1 tracks.
Lowdon praised Herta’s approach, adding that his attitude was a driving factor in the team signing him.
“I just love his attitude,” he said.
“It reminds me of everything that’s right about a racing driver. A proper racing driver.
“This is a multiple winner in IndyCar. He’s had an incredibly successful time racing in IndyCar, and yet he’s prepared to come and join an F1 team and do it with real respect as well.
“He’s clear that he respects Formula 1 and he respects the team. I just think that attitude is very refreshing in this day and age.”
On the technical side, Cadillac’s first cars have been built to the sweeping new 2026 chassis and power unit regulations, with prototypes already passing critical FIA homologation tests.
The team relied on a mix of experienced designers, manufacturing partners, and its UK base near Silverstone while its future Indiana facility was completed.
A Ferrari power unit will propel the car next year, with Cadillac’s own power unit planned for 2029.
For the team and its drivers, the first year will be about execution and growth rather than wins and podiums.
Bottas is clear-eyed on the challenge ahead but remained determined that F1 was where he wanted to be racing.
“For me, the first years it’s going to be quite tricky with Cadillac,” he admitted.
“We’re not expecting big results. That’s just how it goes. We need to build up. We need to learn a lot going into the sport.
“But I’m grateful, and there would be no other series that I’d rather be in than here.”
Lowdon echoed that sentiment, focusing on team cohesion and gradual progress while also considering the changes that everyone on the 2026 grid would be facing.
“We don’t know how competitive everyone is going to be,” he said.
“But I think I’ll be happy if we execute well.
“So everything that’s within our control, if we execute all of those things well, then I’ll be happy.
“Because if we do that, I know that, irrelevant of where we are as a team, we’ll progress.
“That’s the most important thing: to keep building and keep progressing.”
As Melbourne looms, the excitement is unmistakable.
Bottas will make his return in front of a home-like crowd, while the team watches its years of preparation converge into a tangible, roaring reality on track.
It is, as Lowdon says, a rare and exhilarating experience: the birth of a Formula 1 team, from concept to competition, ready to take its place among the sport’s elite.