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Cadillac F1 team hit track for first time as 2026 car given debut in Silverstone shakedown ahead of pre-season testing

Formula 1's new team complete first ever laps on track with their Ferrari-powered 2026 car at Silverstone; watch every round of the 2026 F1 season live on Sky Sports F1, starting with the Australian Grand Prix on March 6-8

Friday 16 January 2026 18:11, UK

The look Cadillac's first car will have for its first week of testing running
Image: The special livery Cadillac's first car will have for its first week of testing running at the end of January

The new Cadillac team gave its first Formula 1 car a maiden track run in a shakedown at Silverstone on Friday.

The team posted a short video on social media of the car, shot at a distance, running down the pit straight at a damp Silverstone.

The General Motors-backed outfit's first challenger is powered by Ferrari engines, meaning the shakedown for filming purposes will have also been the first time the Italian manufacturer's new 2026 engine for F1's revised regulations will have run on track too.

Cadillac are the second team to complete a shakedown ahead of pre-season's first test - in Barcelona from January 26-30 - after the rebranded Audi team ran their new challenger at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya last week.

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Recently-signed reserve driver Zhou Guanyu featured in an earlier social media video from Cadillac's garage at Silverstone, in which he previewed the landmark day in the team's short history.

Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez form the team's vastly experienced first driver line-up, the race-winning veterans returning to the grid after each spending last year on the sidelines.

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Earlier this week the American-owned team revealed the special testing livery its car will run in at the Barcelona test.

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It a largely bare carbon design which features the Cadillac logo spread over the rear of the car, while the names of founding members of the team are inscribed all over the chassis.

The team's final livery, which will be used at the final two testing events in Bahrain and for the 2026 season, is being revealed during the Super Bowl on February 8.

Cadillac have become F1's 11th team and are the first new entrant on the grid since Haas in 2016.

More to follow...

When is F1 pre-season testing?

The introduction of new regulations means there is a robust schedule of three separate testing events before the start of the 2026 season.

The first is a behind-closed-doors event in Barcelona from January 26-30, before two tests follow in Bahrain from February 11-13 and 18-20.

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Formula 1 explains the new 2026 regulation changes, including what will replace DRS, in a plan to allow closer racing next year. Video courtesy of F1.

When is the first F1 race?

The teams then have two weeks to prepare for the opening round of the season, which is the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne from March 6-8.

The first practice sessions of the season will take place on Friday 6 March, with Qualifying on Saturday 7 March and the opening race on Sunday 8 March.

Watch all 24 race weekends from the 2026 Formula 1 season live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - No contract, cancel anytime

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