MELBOURNE, Australia — Cadillac exceeded expectations on its Formula 1 debut in Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix but knows the “honeymoon is over,” according to driver Sergio Pérez and team CEO Dan Towriss.
Following years of planning, Cadillac finally joined the F1 grid for the 2026 season-opener in Melbourne, becoming the sport’s 11th team and first all-new addition in a decade.
Pérez qualified 17th and finished the race 15th, three laps down on race winner George Russell, while teammate Valtteri Bottas retired after 15 laps on Sunday due to engine concerns.
The race weekend at Albert Park marked the first time the new Cadillac team, which only received approval to race in F1 in March 2025, had run two cars at the same time. During preseason testing, only a single car was permitted on the track.
But Towriss, who is the CEO of TWG Motorsports, which co-owns the Cadillac team with General Motors, told reporters on Monday: “It really felt like a beginning, not a destination from that standpoint.
“It’s OK, now we’re here racing and (now it’s about) how do we move up the grid, that kind of thing.”
Cadillac had the two slowest cars that set a time in qualifying on Saturday. Pérez’s best time was three seconds off first place and 1.2 seconds away from advancing to the next stage. Bottas was a further seven-tenths of a second behind.
Cadillac was always anticipated to begin the year toward the back of the grid given its formation from scratch, and has kept its expectations in check as a result. The rest of the field has been racing for more than 10 years.
Pérez told reporters that “the first step is done” and that it was an “incredible” achievement for Cadillac to finish the race, but that its focus now had to be on gaining performance.
“From now on, obviously (the) honeymoon is over, and now we need to do big steps forward,” Pérez said.
“We need to put a plan ASAP on the team to move along and close the gap, which I believe that we can do.
“But obviously, we are all very competitive inside the team, and that’s the attitude we need from now on, to be able to close the gap and aim for something big this year.”
Towriss felt that Cadillac had earned the respect of the rest of the F1 grid through its showing in Melbourne, avoiding any major mistakes or errors that could have made it look like a team in its first year of F1.
But he agreed with Pérez’s push to find performance.
“I think the honeymoon analogy is probably right,” said Towriss. “It’s very short-lived, and now we just see where we’re at relative to the competition, and what we can do to develop the car and move up the grid.”
“I love Checo (Pérez)’s fire, too. He catches me after the race, and it’s ‘let’s talk about this development plan’ and things that we can do with the car as we continue to improve as a team.”
Towriss was also heartened by the paddock’s welcoming of Cadillac, as well as the response from fans rooting for F1’s newest team.
“The reception has been great, the fans were fantastic,” said Towriss. “The crowds here in Melbourne were just off the charts. The fans were happy to see Cadillac, a new team, so we really feel welcomed onto the grid from that standpoint.
“Again, I think I’ll go back to what Checo said. The honeymoon’s over, and so elbows are out.”