Cadillac rolls its first F1 laps at Silverstone as Perez leads the shakedown in stealthy black
Cadillac has finally put rubber to runway. The American marque’s all‑black 2026 challenger turned its first laps at a damp, chilly Silverstone during a shakedown late last week, with Sergio Perez at the wheel and a Ferrari power unit singing in the back.
The team kept things very Cadillac — slick, cinematic, and short on giveaways. A fresh video drop offered cleaner angles than the initial teaser, but the matte-black test livery did its job, masking most of the new-car detailing while the crew quietly ticked off systems checks and installation mileage. One nice touch: the names of the project’s founding team members from the United States and United Kingdom were printed on the bodywork, a nod to the cross‑Atlantic build that got this car to pit exit.
Perez, a six‑time grand prix winner, sounded both relieved and hungry afterward. “Today was really an amazing day,” he said. “Everyone should feel incredibly proud to complete our first laps as a team. Each and every person has worked so hard to get to this moment and it was emotional to be part of motorsport history. We can, and should, all enjoy, but it’s absolutely fired me up for more. I just want to get back in and get mileage – this is just the start.”
If the visuals kept the aero department’s secrets safe, the soundtrack confirmed the supply: the car ran Ferrari power for the shakedown. No shock that the team wasn’t chasing lap time. Early runs like this are about temperatures, vibrations, calibration and gremlins — the unsexy jobs that can make or break the first true tests.
Cadillac plans to reveal its race livery on 8 February, when the wrap finally comes off and the public gets a better look at the shapes the team has been hiding. Until then, expect more moody glimpses rather than studio-lit clarity. It’s a familiar playbook for a debuting outfit aiming to control the build-up.
The wider test picture won’t help fans decipher much either. Private running at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is due to be held behind closed doors later in February, while Bahrain will stage two public tests — scheduled for 11–13 and 18–20 February — offering the first proper read on Cadillac’s on-track procedures, driver feedback and, crucially, mileage banked against the field.
Perez is set to share 2026 duties with Valtteri Bottas, a pairing long on experience and mechanical sympathy — exactly what a new operation needs in the crucible of early development. Expect both to cycle through filming days and shakedowns as the car’s reliability envelope expands and the engineers build their database run by run.
As for the car itself? The latest clip shows a tidy, purposeful package, but the black-on-black treatment and tight framing keep the real talking points hidden. That’s deliberate. Teams don’t spend months in CFD and the wind tunnel only to show their homework in January. Even so, the stance looks compact, the bodywork sculpted, and the whole thing gives off the vibe of a project that’s hit its marks so far.
First laps don’t win trophies, but they do set a tone. Cadillac’s was calm, competent and unfussy — the sound of a brand taking its first proper steps in Formula 1 without trying to shout over the V6. The real interrogation comes under the Bahraini sun.
What’s next: a livery launch, more carefully managed mileage, and then the first head-to-head sessions where lap charts replace mood reels. For now, the box labeled “we’ve run” is checked. That alone is a milestone worth noting for a team that’s spent months building towards a single, simple moment: the lights going green at the end of the pit lane.
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The pulse behind the power 💪
— Cadillac Formula 1 Team (@Cadillac_F1)January 18, 2026
