Brand-new Formula 1 teams don't come along very often, so it is always tough to know what to expect from a new entrant. Following a protracted entry process, the well-funded Cadillac outfit certainly came in under very different circumstances than team boss Graeme Lowdon's previous adventure with Manor. But it also had to produce or procure much more of its own parts than when F1's last new entrant, Haas, came into the series in 2016 under a different ruleset.
Add in the complex 2026 power unit regulations, and Cadillac was in for a tough challenge. But propelled by veteran grand prix winners Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas, the US-owned team got off to a respectable start, landing it a creditable C grade heading into the summer break.
2026 snapshot
Cadillac sits at the bottom of the F1 standings in 11th with no points scored, having come close to taking a maiden point at a penalty-laden Monaco Grand Prix where Perez finished 11th.
Having held back struggling Aston Martin for the majority of the season, its rival's large Hungary upgrade demoted Cadillac to the back of the grid again. Cadillac's nine retirements are also the second-most on the grid behind Aston Martin.
The good: Respectable performance and sleek appearance
There were a huge number of things that could have gone wrong for Cadillac, but F1's 11th team has to be applauded for meeting every single deadline, from its first cold and rainy filming day in Silverstone to the Barcelona shakedown.
Off the track, the operation didn't look one bit out of place when it turned up in Melbourne, when it introduced its sleek motorhome in the Monaco marina or when it made a big splash around its homecoming in Miami.
But in F1, it's the stopwatch that tells the real story and Cadillac was quick to allay any 107% fears, showing up around three seconds off the pace of the frontrunners. It subsequently brought an impressive number of upgrades to the MAC-26, aptly named after Mario Andretti, to at least keep pace with the improvements made across the grid. As a new operation, that rolling development rate is no mean feat.
The bad: There's no escaping the growing pains
Cadillac has also had its fair share of bumps on the road, including various reliability issues and inconsistencies. Some of those were not directly within its own control, because a lot of production is done via third parties. But losing both cars to overheating brakes at the Austrian Grand Prix, only for the issue to pop up again in Hungary, is something that cannot keep happening.
At the same time, its drivers are starting to get frustrated with what they feel is a lack of progress both on performance and trackside operations, which Lowdon insists is creating the "right level" of tension to propel the team forward.
None of this is particularly surprising for a start-up outfit, which has shed blood, sweat and tears to be where it is, and has ambitious plans not to stay at the back of the grid for long.
What they're saying
Lowdon: "It's so difficult to know where a new team should be because it's a relative game. But if you look at all of the things that we measure, which is how well have we executed, have we hit deadlines for shaking down the car on the right day, being on the full car dyno at the right time, racing at the right time, all the rest of it, then all of that's been hit.
"The fact that we outperformed in terms of pace a very well-established team shows that everyone in the team has done a tremendous job. And also the fact that when we have had problems, we've quite rightly been judged by the same yardstick as every other team. We're still chasing the pack, but in terms of how difficult it is to gain milliseconds in developing a car, we're pretty much on the same path as everyone else."
"At the same time, we're recognising that this is our 11th grand prix, so we're also building these foundations as well as trying to compete."
