Cadillac Formula One team principal Graeme Lowdon confirmed that his team has finished conducting squeeze and impact tests on its 2026 prototype F1 car, becoming the first team to have reached the milestone.
Weeks after Cadillac F1 announced Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas as its driver lineup for its debut season, Lowdon revealed that the team conducted tests similar to FIA homologation tests to ensure the car ticks all the boxes to pass homologation in the future.
Cadillac F1’s challenger will use a Ferrari power unit and gearbox for its early years in the premier class of motorsports before switching to its own General Motors-manufactured power unit in 2029. Speaking about the team’s progress with the car that is set to debut in January 2026, which also marks the inception of a new era of regulations, Lowdon told F1:
“The good news is it [the new car, which will be built to sweeping new chassis and power unit regulations] is coming along. It’s on schedule. We are currently laying up the first two race chassis.
Cadillac F1 Team Principal Graeme Lowdon walks in the paddock during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Italy at Autodromo Nazionale Monza on September 5, 2025 in Monza, Italy.
Cadillac F1 Team Principal Graeme Lowdon walks in the paddock during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Italy at Autodromo Nazionale Monza on September 5, 2025 in Monza, Italy.
Kym Illman/Getty Images
“We built a prototype chassis some time ago and we use that chassis to do all of the equivalent FIA homologation tests. So, there’s some very onerous squeeze tests and also the rather dramatic impact tests, which is quite a significant test.
“We’ve already built the prototype, went through all those tests. We are probably the first team that has done as well, because obviously the other teams have got learnings from their ’25 cars and ’24 cars and everything.
“We wanted to do that to give ourselves confidence that when we’re building the race chassis, we’ve got a high degree of confidence that we should pass the homologation tests. But now we’re actually laying up the actual race chassis and it’s on schedule and it’s really cool to see.”
Lowdon explained that the team’s target for its first year in F1 is to execute everything perfectly and build respect from rival teams. He added:
“The regulations are super tight and so the competition is absolutely insane and intense and we have to recognise that.
“I guess the way I try and communicate to other people is, imagine if you’re one of these existing teams, all of them have been doing this for at least 10 years, if not significantly longer.
“If a new team were to come in and immediately be competitive against them, then you’d be pretty upset and pretty angry. And so, we know it’s a huge challenge. It’s very difficult to quantify what success can look like other than we just have to execute as well as we possibly can and gain respect from the other competitors.
“I think that’s always the first target because, if we do that, then we know that we will be doing a good job.”