Beijing, May 14 The easy part of Cadillac's Formula One project is over. Getting to the grid, securing the entry, assembling the personnel, and building the infrastructure across three continents have all been done. Now comes the harder task, one that has undone plenty of new teams before it, of turning that foundation into something competitive in a championship that rarely forgives inexperience.
Less than two years ago, this was still a nebulous idea rather than a functioning race team.
What that process would actually feel like, however, only became clear once it started, reports Xinhua.
"There definitely was some naivete," team owner Dan Towriss told Xinhua during last month's Japanese Grand Prix weekend. "You can say it's complicated, but until you get in and see all the pieces and everything that's needed, the amount of coordination, the number of complex systems that have to work together in unison, it's another level entirely."
That sense of reality setting in has not altered the direction of the project, but it has sharpened it. When Towriss spoke to Xinhua in Singapore last year, the emphasis was on long-term ambition and carving out a distinct identity. A few races into Cadillac's debut season, the focus is already more pragmatic, centred on processes, systems, and the rate of progress.
A DIFFERENT KIND OF PRESSURE
There has been no obvious panic in Cadillac's early weeks on track, nor any attempt to dress up its position. Four races into 2026, the MAC-26 is not yet a midfield contender, and both Towriss and team principal Graeme Lowdon are open about the scale of the gap that needs to be closed.
But there is still pressure, even without results to chase. "The pressure that comes is the pressure of Formula One, week in and week out, and it's self-imposed," Towriss said.
Seven finishes from a combined eight starts for drivers Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas have offered a degree of early reassurance, particularly given how more established teams like Aston Martin have struggled with the demands of the new regulations, yet Towriss is wary of allowing that to become the benchmark. "I actually kind of bristle at that, because finishing a race is not the goal," he said.
LESSONS CARRIED FORWARD
For Lowdon, there is a familiarity to the process, even if the context has changed dramatically.
His last experience of leading a new F1 team came with Manor, an operation that spent its short life battling for survival before eventually folding, and one that stood alongside Caterham and HRT as examples of how difficult it is for new entrants to establish themselves in modern F1.
"The situations are very different, there's no question about that," Lowdon said, referencing the shift in both commercial and regulatory frameworks over the past decade.
Cadillac's project carries far greater financial backing and long-term intent than Manor's ever did, with General Motors and TWG Global underpinning a structure designed to grow over time rather than simply endure, but some of the underlying challenges remain the same. "Teams build up intangible intellectual property that is invaluable, and it takes years, if not decades, to build," Lowdon said. "The data we're assembling is a tiny fraction of what other teams have."
That lack of accumulated knowledge is not something that can be solved quickly, even with a fresh set of regulations that, in theory, should compress the field.
THE REALITY OF STARTING FROM SCRATCH
In practical terms, Cadillac is still operating without many of the tools that established teams take for granted, particularly when it comes to correlating simulation data with real-world performance - a process that underpins modern F1 development. "Aero's going to be at the top of the list," Towriss said, identifying the area most likely to determine how quickly the team can move forward.
Lowdon points to the same issue from a different angle, noting that the inability to run a car before the season has delayed the process of building reliable feedback loops between wind tunnel, CFD, and track data.
Until that gap is closed, progress will come in steps rather than leaps.
BUILDING MORE THAN A CAR
If there is one area where Cadillac believes it can accelerate its development, it is in the way the organisation itself functions.
The team has been assembled quickly, drawing on experience from across the grid, yet both Towriss and Lowdon have been clear that the objective is not simply to replicate what already exists elsewhere. "We're not Mercedes, Red Bull, [or] Ferrari," Towriss said. "This is Cadillac Formula One."
That approach has centred on creating a shared culture within a group that, until recently, had never worked together, something Towriss sees as essential given the complexity of the sport and the level of coordination required to compete effectively.
Early signs, at least internally, have been positive. "What I'm really pleased about is the way the team is performing in problem-solving, the team spirit is really, really high," Lowdon said.
PROGRESS OVER PROMISES
There is no attempt from Cadillac to make any grand pronouncements about desired points totals or championship positions. Instead, the aim for this season is to improve steadily, reduce the gap to the midfield, and build a platform that can support more meaningful progress in the years ahead.
"I think what we're hoping to do is take chunks of time off the car and be competing with mid-pack teams," Towriss said.
"The goal is to close the gap to the next team, race them, challenge them, and keep progressing," Lowdon added.
F1 has a long history of new teams arriving with ambition and leaving with little to show for it, undone by the sheer scale of the challenge. Cadillac, for all its backing and preparation, is not immune to those same forces.
What it does have, at least for now, is time, and a clear understanding that there are no shortcuts, only the slow, demanding process of building something capable of lasting in a sport where even the smallest advantage can take years to create.
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