Eleven rounds into its first season, Cadillac is the only team on the 2026 grid still without a point, one place and one point behind Aston Martin. Depending on who you ask inside the operation, that is either a rounding error on a long-term project or evidence that the team cannot yet develop a Formula 1 car.
Team principal Graeme Lowdon is firmly in the first camp. Asked by RacingNews365 whether Cadillac had already become an outfit capable of pulling top talent out of established teams, he pointed to the appeal of the challenge itself.
"I hope that we've demonstrated that it's a team with bold ambition. We do want to constantly improve. I think that's attractive to good people," Lowdon said. "The challenge is there for everyone to see. That's clear, and I think there are a lot of people who find that very appealing as well, to be part of something fresh and take on a big challenge."
The recruitment argument is not hypothetical. Red Bull chief engineer Paul Monaghan is among the paddock figures who have moved across. Lowdon framed the goal in terms borrowed from one of his own managers.
"We want to make this the team that everybody wants to join, everyone's proud to be a part of, and nobody wants to leave," he said. "If we can achieve that, then we'll attract the very best people, build the very best team, and hopefully the results will follow."
Sergio Perez, who came closest to scoring before penalties wiped out his Monaco result, is far less comfortable. Speaking about the first half of the season, the Mexican said the problem is not the starting point but the rate of improvement since.
"It's been very difficult for us to develop. I think we haven't developed basically enough," Perez said. "So we obviously have to rethink all our processes to make sure that we are able to develop a lot stronger, because in Formula 1 it's all about developing, and I think it's what we are lacking a bit."
He was blunter still about what sits underneath that. "I think at the moment we don't have a clear process in place," he said, contrasting Cadillac with rivals who "know their process on development" and have "a very clear line how to do things backwards and forwards."
Cadillac has not been idle. Its first major aerodynamic package arrived in Miami with floor changes, a new front wing and weight-saving revisions, and updates have followed across multiple weekends. Perez's complaint is that none of them moved the car the way Racing Bulls' Montreal package or Aston Martin's Hungary upgrade moved theirs. He also flagged the structural limits of buying a Ferrari power unit and gearbox: "There is a little bit of inefficiency and obviously a lack of development because a lot of it is done through third parties. So we don't control much of it."
Valtteri Bottas offers the third reading, and it is the most personal. The Finn still holds Cadillac's best result of the year, 13th in Shanghai, and told GPblog at the Hungaroring that the car has finally stopped hiding from him.
"In the beginning of the year, we had quite a few issues with the car, consistency of the parts. Sometimes I felt a little bit lost on finding why I'm lacking pace, but then we eventually always found answers," Bottas said. "Now, the last couple of events, I've gained a lot more confidence with the car. [...] Finally, I feel like I'm on the level that I should be driving."
He was careful not to oversell it: "There's been lots of problem solving, lots of debugging, and for sure there's still a mountain of work to do."
So the three men agree Cadillac has punched above the pre-season predictions that had it glued to the back. They do not agree on what the next step requires. Lowdon is recruiting for a decade. Perez wants the development machine rebuilt before the next upgrade is designed. Bottas, having spent a year as a Mercedes reserve, is measuring progress against his own lap times rather than the constructors' table.
Perez did at least confirm the 2026 car has not been abandoned as attention shifts to 2027. "No one in the team is happy with where we currently are," he said. "So I would think that the team will keep pushing a few more upgrades to come to make sure that we are able to at least show ourselves that our development process is strong."
Neither Cadillac car finished at the Hungaroring. Zandvoort on 23 August is the next chance to change the number in the points column.
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*Originally published on [News Formula One](https://newsformula.one/article/cadillacs-split-verdict-lowdon-aims-high-perez-sees-a-broken-process). Visit for full coverage.*