Cadillac’s long-trailed Formula 1 project has finally touched real asphalt, with its new car turning its first laps at Silverstone and giving you the clearest proof yet that the American brand’s grand prix ambitions are no longer theoretical. The shakedown run, framed as a filming day, marked the moment when design simulations and dyno numbers had to answer to cold air, kerbs and a stopwatch. For you as a fan or industry watcher, it is the first tangible look at how a fresh entrant plans to navigate F1’s most competitive era.

Those early laps were not about chasing lap records, but about validating systems, gathering data and showing that the Cadillac Formula 1 vision can operate under real circuit pressure. With the car running in a stealthy test livery and a proven race winner at the wheel, the outing at the British circuit signalled that the project has moved from pitch deck to pit lane.

The first laps and why Silverstone matters

Your first takeaway from Cadillac’s debut run should be the choice of venue. Silverstone is not just any circuit, it is a benchmark for high-speed aero performance and a proving ground that has shaped generations of grand prix machinery. The Cadillac Formula 1 Team chose to complete its initial running at the Northamptonshire track, linking its new car to a place that has hosted some of the sport’s most important milestones and sits at the heart of the UK’s so-called Motorsport Valley, a region you can see mapped around England. By opting for a filming day format, the team could run within F1’s strict mileage limits while still capturing footage for sponsors and internal analysis.

From a technical standpoint, those first laps were about making sure the car starts, stops and steers as intended, and that the power unit, hybrid systems and cooling packages behave under load. The Cadillac Formula 1 Team’s own communications describe the outing as a major step in turning a clean-sheet design into a functioning race car, with the organisation’s base in Fishers, Indiana linked to its operational footprint at Silverstone through a coordinated test plan that you can trace through the official team update. For you, that means the project has cleared the first non-negotiable hurdle: the car runs, and it runs at one of the toughest tracks on the calendar.

Inside Cadillac’s new F1 operation

If you want to understand what those laps represent, you need to look at the structure Cadillac has built around them. The organisation is presented publicly as The Cadillac Formula 1 Team, a dedicated entry that sits within General Motors but operates with the focus and autonomy you would expect from a modern F1 outfit. Its official platform outlines how the Cadillac Formula 1 Team is positioning itself as a full constructor, with its own technical leadership, driver line-up and commercial programme rather than a mere branding exercise.

Earlier this year, series organisers confirmed that Eleven teams are set to contest the championship once the Cadillac Formula 1 Team joins the grid, making the American squad F1’s 11th entrant and expanding the field beyond the current ten-team structure. You can see that context laid out in the sport’s own explanation of how Eleven teams will share the grid once the new entry arrives. For you, that means Cadillac is not just dipping into F1 as a sponsor, it is reshaping the competitive landscape by adding another full-scale operation to the paddock.

Checo, the shakedown and an emotional milestone

The human element of Cadillac’s first outing is just as important as the hardware. The team entrusted the debut laps to Sergio Perez, the experienced Mexican race winner whose presence gives the project immediate credibility. Reporting from the Silverstone filming day notes that Sergio Perez, listed as MEX in timing data, drove the Cadillac Formula 1 Team Car in a session recorded at 16.02, a detail that underlines how tightly controlled and documented every run is in modern F1, as reflected in the official Team Car summary. For you, seeing a driver of his calibre commit to the programme signals that this is a serious competitive effort rather than a marketing exercise.

Those inside the garage did not hide how much the moment meant. Drivers spoke of being proud to “be part of motorsport history,” with Perez, described explicitly as a Mexican, praising Cadillac’s efforts and admitting he was emotional as the car completed its first laps, a sentiment captured in coverage of how Drivers reacted to the shakedown. Team Holdings CEO Dan Towriss called the milestone “a significant” step, framing the day as a validation of the investment and planning that preceded it, a point you can see echoed in the report on how the Team Completes First track laps. When you combine that emotion with the precision of the run plan, you get a sense of how high the internal expectations already are.

The stealth car, the Silverstone shakedown and what was learned

Visually, Cadillac’s first appearance on track was defined by restraint rather than fireworks. The car ran in an all-black configuration, a stealth look that kept final sponsor branding and design flourishes under wraps while also making it easier for engineers to spot bodywork flex and fluid traces. Coverage of the day notes that Cadillac ran the car in this all-black setup at Silverstone, describing it as a deliberate choice to keep some mystery while the team focused on bridging the “sand between theory and reality,” a phrase you will recognise from analysis of how Cadillac F1 approached its first test. For you, that means the team is prioritising engineering clarity over early marketing gloss.

From a process perspective, the day was structured as a classic shakedown, sometimes called a filming day, with limited mileage but intense scrutiny of every system. Reports describe how the Cadillac F1 team hit the track for the first time as the 2026 car was given its debut in a Silverstone shakedown ahead of pre-season testing, a sequence that gives you a clear sense of where this run sits in the broader preparation timeline and is detailed in coverage of how the Cadillac F1 team approached the day. The car’s debut run was described as a massively proud moment for the hundreds of employees inside the Cadillac Formula 1 Team’s premises at Silv, a detail that underlines how many people’s work converged on those first laps and is captured in the account of the Team debut run.

From “motorsport history” to Super Bowl spotlight

Cadillac is not shy about how it wants you to perceive this project. One report characterises the moment as Cadillac Makes “Motorsport History” With First Laps In F1, describing how The American outfit completed its filming day at England’s Silverstone Circuit behind closed doors but with a clear sense of occasion, a framing you can see in coverage of how Cadillac Makes its case. Another account notes that the Cadillac Formula 1 Team Completes Its First Laps On The Track, emphasising that On January the team crossed a symbolic threshold from concept to competition, a milestone you can trace through the report that the Team Completes Its. For you, that language matters because it shows how aggressively Cadillac is positioning its F1 move as a defining chapter in its motorsport story.

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