Cadillac’s maiden Formula 1 weekend in Australia may have ended with a single car classified 16th, but team principal Graeme Lowdon insists the team is “way ahead of where we really should be,” signaling a positive start to its new chapter in the sport.
The narrative surrounding Cadillac’s entry has been one of a steep uphill climb. Restricted by regulations from putting their own car on the track last season, the team was forced to develop its 2026 contender in a purely virtual environment.
While Sergio Perez finished three laps down on race winner George Russell in Melbourne, he was just a lap behind a Williams and an Alpine. For Lowden, that performance was a victory of process over probability.
Reliability First, Pace Next
Lowdon was candid about the team’s priorities moving forward.
“We need to work on reliability, that’s obvious, but we’re not alone with that,” he told SiriusXM. “And then we need to work on pace.
“On race pace, we’re not that far off racing a whole bunch of other teams, and so clearly that’s the next target – once we can get the reliability nailed down, I’m absolutely convinced we will of that – is start racing people on pace.
“It’s within touching distance. And I think in reality that’s more than we could ever expect, when you consider that this is a car that’s been designed entirely effectively on computers that haven’t been calibrated against a racetrack, wind tunnels that haven’t been calibrated against a car…
“It was against the rules for us to run a car last year of our own, so all in all I think when we analyze it from that point of view we’re kind of way ahead of where we really should be.”
Beyond Cadillac’s performance at Albert Park last weekend, Lowdon praised the team for simply getting on the grid amid a grueling new regulation set.
“The team have done a fantastic effort,” he said. “This game’s not easy. It is the hardest team sport in the world, it’s the greatest team sport in the world, it’s so difficult and you could see some people didn’t even get to the start – that’s how difficult this game is.
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“So it would have been great to get two cars home on our first ever grand prix for Cadillac Formula 1 Team, just purely and simply because we’re greedy and we always want more.
“But getting one home meant that we’ve now got a platform to build on and we get to go again next week, which I think is great, because we’re really getting into the stride now.”
A Platform for the Future
Lowdon reflected on the long journey that led to Cadillac’s first race and the challenge of stepping into a sport dominated by decades of experience.
“To some extent it’s been such a long project and this day’s been coming for such a long time that the more I thought about it, the more I kind of realized that I didn’t really know what to expect,” he said.
“It’s such a big regulation change as well. And we said this a lot, we’ve got such a huge level of respect for the competition in this paddock, it’s a seriously difficult game, we’re up against the very best in the world, and so it’s not something that is easy to just walk into.
“We said a number of times before, if you go and beat another team that has been doing it a long time then can you imagine how they would feel?
“We know that we’ve still got a lot of work to do, but the most exciting thing for me is that I know that I’m in a team of people who are more than capable of doing this. All we need now is some time and I’m absolutely convinced that this is a team that’s going to move forward.”
For a team making its first foray into Formula 1, Cadillac may have finished well down the order in Melbourne, but Lowdon’s confidence suggests it could be a case of watch this space – a squad already claiming to be ahead of expectations and aiming for much more.
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