Cadillac, historic day at Silverstone: first shakedown lap completed

The first cry of Cadillac Friday 16 January 2026 is a day that will enter the history books of Formula 1. In fact, at Silverstone, Cadillac, the newborn American team that will make its debut in the Circus this year as the new 11th team, completed its very first shakedown. Formally, it is the 168th team to enter Formula 1 in history, although many of these later merged and evolved into each other. Many others however, especially in the ‘prehistoric’ years when F1 was in its infancy, lasted only a few races. That time, however, is far away and the Cadillac is here to stay. The first cry of the new American team could only take place at Silverstone, a track located a few dozen meters away from the English Cadillac factory, which can also count on several operational bases in the United States. The team’s three key drivers were present on the damp Northamptonshire track: Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez, the two starters who will face the 2026 season, and the Chinese Zhou Guanyu, a reserve driver who Cadillac has just taken from Ferrari. It is not clear which of the three had the honor of being the first to put the newborn single-seater on the track. The Ferrari power unit also makes its debut. With a short 10-second video published on its social channels, Cadillac communicated the shakedown that had taken place, accompanying the images with an ‘iconic’ phrase suited to the moment: “The first lap of something bigger”. After this very first home run, the Cadillac will fly to Barcelona, ​​where the first official tests of the new season are scheduled from 26 to 30 January – strictly behind closed doors. The Cadillac shakedown also has significant implications for Ferrari: Maranello in fact supplies the power unit to the stars and stripes team and today is therefore also the debut of the 2026 Ferrari engine.