Lowdon: Cadillac has earned rivals’ respect after its first F1 race in Australia

Sun, March 8, 2026 at 8:51 AM UTC

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1 / 0Australia F1 GP Auto RacingCadillac driver Valtteri Bottas of Finland steers his car during the third practice session for the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park, in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, March 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake) ()

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — After a strong Australian debut, Cadillac principal Graeme Lowdon says the team has earned its rivals’ respect and plans to build on a “really solid platform” for future success.

General Motors brand Cadillac had a short run-up to the pinnacle of motor sport, and its 2026 debut at Melbourne’s Albert Park, having only gained its commercial deal with the sport in November 2024. Though preparations were well underway at its Silverstone Park base located next to the famous UK track.

The American team didn’t set the time sheets alight at 2026’s first race, with Sergio Pérez finishing 16th, up from 18th on the grid; while teammate Valtteri Bottas failed to finish from 19th. But it can be proud it got two cars qualified and onto the grid at the world’s toughest motor racing competition, and looked properly turned out as an operation.

“In terms of a first race for a new team. I’m really, really pleased with the way that the team’s done everything,” Lowdon told The . “It would have been great to get both cars home, for sure. And I haven’t been in all of the meetings yet to see what the what the detail was on the problem we had with Valtteri’s car, but it certainly looked as if it wasn’t something that we had direct control over.

“But to get one car home, it’s just kind of a mark of the start of a very, very long journey. I’m kind of more pleased with the whole approach of the team. What I think we’ve created here is the foundations of something that could be really very special.”

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Cadillac, though, won’t be taking any heart from finishing ahead of Aston Martin, which had a nightmare season start with an uncompetitive and unreliable Honda power unit that cost it mileage to make improvements; ensuring the team is destined to be at the back for the foreseeable future.

“I think what it does do is give some context of just how difficult Formula 1 is,” Lowdon said. “I’ve got huge respect for Aston Martin, I know a lot of people who work there, they’re incredible people who’ve got great ownership. You know, there’s all of the required investment there.

“Formula 1 is a team game. And I’ve always said it, I think it’s the greatest team game in the world, but it’s also the most difficult team game in the world because everybody is fundamentally trying to do exactly the same thing at the same time to the same set of rules, and so the competition is fierce.”

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

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