Cadillac clears 'major milestones' in bid to be on F1 grid in 2026

Cadillac has hit a significant milestone in its attempt to be on the grid for its Formula 1 debut in just three months.

Since F1 finally handed the team an entry for 2026 in March, work has been unrelenting across its various bases, with the car now passing a series of mandatory FIA tests crucial to continuing the build work.

Team principal Graeme Lowdon has described some of the tests as "extremely stringent", but as of just over a week ago, it received the green light from the FIA, guaranteeing its 520-strong workforce can look ahead to the first test at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya at the end of January, and then on to the season-opening race in Melbourne in early March.

Speaking to RacingNews365 in the paddock in Abu Dhabi ahead of this weekend's title-deciding grand prix, Lowdon said: "A key thing for us in terms of timeline and car build is firstly the chassis, monocoque and rear end, and that pretty much just leaves the nose.

"In terms of the monocoque, the 17 FIA homologation tests, we passed the final one last week. They include various push-off tests and squeeze tests. The most dramatic test is the dynamic impact test. It is, quite rightly, a pretty onerous test.

"You have to put 100 kilograms of water into a fuel tank, the crash test dummy's in there, and then there's an impact, which has to be in excess of 52g. It's a fairly big smash, so passing that was another milestone for us in terms of car build.

"Then, on the rear of the car, we're building our own gearbox case. We take the gearbox cassette from Ferrari, but the case itself has to be designed, along with a rear impact structure.

"Whereas the monocoque has 17 FIA tests, that rear end assembly has four, which is a mixture of push off and dynamic impact, and again, they all passed, as of last week.

"So fundamentally, all of the things that would normally have some uncertainty in terms of testing are now passed.

"In terms of milestones that could cause you a headache and really disrupt the overall build, we're pretty happy to be in a comfortable place on that."

Cadillac 'in a good place'

Lowdon has confirmed the tests for the nose are "separate" and "independent" and are not as pressing as the monocoque and rear end.

"You tend to run that right up until the absolute deadline," added Lowdon. "We've been carrying out those tests every week. We do a number of them, so we're not concerned.

"And when I say a number of them, that's not with the FIA witnessing them, but a number looking at different designs. We're not concerned about that test.

"It was the other ones. If there was going to be a concern when you design the new car, it's those, so that's now out of the way."

Lowdon insists Cadillac is "in a good place at the moment" regarding confidence that everything is on schedule, although adding that there is no complacency.

"We worked out that to be on the grid in Melbourne requires somewhere in the region of 85,000 parts to be designed and manufactured," said Lowdon.

"There's still some way to go, as there is for all of the teams in the paddock, but these are some major milestones that are now out of the way. It allows us to continue with the car build.

"So, since last Tuesday, we've been able to press the button and start building the cars properly. That's all on schedule. It's pretty good to see it all taking shape."