Cadillac is working towards testing a previous year's F1 car ahead of its debut in the championship next year, according to new driver Sergio Perez and team principal Graeme Lowdon.
However, because the fledgling American entry does not have any older cars of its own—with its first being built for the 2026 F1 regulations overhaul—it will need to use a car from a rival team.
Perez, who will partner with Valtteri Bottas next season as part of an experienced driver line-up, said there are plans with another team to use a car provided by one of the existing 10 teams before the end of the year.
Cadillac has yet to confirm which rival will supply the car, but Ferrari appears the most logical choice, as the Italian manufacturer is set to provide power units to the General Motors-backed operation through 2029.
Under F1 rules, teams may run older F1 cars under the TPC (Testing of Previous Cars) programme, which allows use of machines from 2022 to 2024.
Perez’s comments were supported by his new team boss during his and Bottas’ unveiling, with Lowdon elaborating on Cadillac’s wider preparations.
"We don’t have a TPC car or a current car that we can operate, but we are already simulating race events," said Lowdon to media, including RacingNews365.
"The next one that we're doing is Monza, and we simulate it as if it is a complete race, from start to finish, with full integration of everybody in the team from Thursday all the way through to Sunday.
"We’ve got a very clear plan in our build-up to Melbourne next year, and it doesn't involve just simulating races, which is really, really important.
"The last one we simulated, we probably had 50 or 60 engineering people fully involved over the whole weekend, both in the UK and the US, all getting used to working with each other.
"And we need to be in a position that when we get to Melbourne, we're not in a position where people are hearing voices for the first time, or working with each other for the first time, or anything else like that."
Lowdon also explained that, with Bottas still tied to commitments with Mercedes until the end of the year, the situation with Perez is "a bit different," implying that the six-time grand prix winner will be the one to benefit from an early testing programme.
Perez has been without a team since the end of last season, and while Bottas is already familiar with Ferrari power units, Perez is not.
As a result, testing will be particularly advantageous for Perez - but the greater benefit lies with the team as it continues preparations to become grand prix-ready ahead of the trip to Albert Park in March.
"And we’ll be introducing car testing as well this year," Lowdon explained. "Obviously, we have to work with others to be able to do that, but there's that's perfectly allowable under the regulations.
"We just have a plan to steadily build up so that when we get to Melbourne, we hit the ground running, and the drivers themselves play such an important part in it.
"And the one thing I can tell you, just spending time with them is, I don't want to put words in their mouths, but there's a huge amount of enthusiasm to get going."
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