General Motors President Mark Reuss has unveiled the livery for the Cadillac Formula 1 team cars, but don’t get too excited: This monochrome-ish look will only be used for the series shakedown, which is scheduled for January 26-30 at the Catalunya circuit in Barcelona, Spain.
The regular-season liveries for the two-car Cadillac F1 team’s debut season will be revealed on February 8 during the broadcast of the Super Bowl.
This unveiling was part of GM’s opening-week festivities at its new headquarters in the Hudson’s Detroit building, and included a replica F1 car carrying this one-week-only livery. The car will be on display at the Detroit Auto Show until January 25.
Cadillac
The Barcelona livery is, Cadillac says, “a bold, yet disciplined design created specifically for the demands of pre-season development. In Formula 1, testing liveries traditionally help mask aerodynamic details ahead of competition—much like camouflaged prototypes in the automotive world—while still expressing brand identity.
“The large Cadillac crest is draped elegantly over the rear to disguise the aero surfaces and to boldly showcase the arrival of Cadillac on the global sporting stage,” the company says. “The Cadillac precision geometric pattern is presented vertically throughout the race car in a gloss and matte sequence which will help disguise the bodywork in an artful display of the brand’s DNA.”
Cadillac
“Our new testing livery celebrates Detroit’s design heritage and the power of the global Cadillac Formula 1 team, while keeping our design secrets under wraps,” Reuss said. “The Barcelona test is just the beginning—we can’t wait to share our official race livery with fans around the world next month.”
One interesting element: The names of the founding members of the team, from both the United States and the United Kingdom, were incorporated into the design on the car’s nose.
Cadillac
As you likely know, Cadillac is joining the F1 grid as the 11th team, with veteran drivers Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas. The team, built in part on the foundation laid by Michael Andretti’s unsuccessful attempt to enter the series, announced that it has hired ex-Sauber racer Zhou Guanyu as the reserve driver.
And, of course, former IndyCar driver Colton Herta has moved overseas to the Formula 2 series, as a building block for the expected, eventual addition of an American driver for the Cadillac team.