FORMULA ONE is a sport that has many different complexities to it. From different components that make up the cars, most with names and abbreviations, that let’s be honest, no one truly understands, to hundreds of regulations that teams and drivers need to adhere to.
But before we throw you in at the deep end, we are going to walk you through the different teams.
So far, we talked about Alpine and Aston Martin and Audi, so next up is…
Cadillac
Cadillac Formula 1 Team, based in Fishers, Indiana, U.S, is the new team on the block.
It was announced in 2023 that General Motors and Michael Andretti would come together to enter Formula One from the 2026 season as the 11th team.
The last time there were 11 teams on the grid was back in 2016.
Initially, the team was going to be called Andretti Racing; however, due to conflicts between Formula One and Andretti, it was changed to Cadillac in 2024.
Who makes up the Cadillac team?
The Team Principal is Graeme Lowdon. He’s not had a lot of experience with motor racing compared to the other team principals, but he has had a few years with F1 teams in the past.
His job is to oversee all the technical, operational and personnel aspects to ensure the team is moving in the right direction.
Ultimately, he has final say over key strategic decisions and represents the team publicly in the media.
Like every F1 team, there are two drivers.
Mexican Sergio Perez is back after spending a year out of the sport when his contract with Red Bull was not renewed.
Perez started his F1 career in 2011, where he raced for Sauber, before making a move to McLaren for the 2013 season.
After just one season with McLaren, it was announced that he would join Force India (Racing Point) for 2014-2020
Some good performances in the later years then saw him get a seat at Red Bull from 2021.
However, a poor 2024 campaign saw him replaced by rookie Liam Lawson.
Finnish Valtteri Bottas is the second driver, and like Perez, he has also spent a year out of the sport before making his return.
Bottas began his F1 journey in 2013 for Williams after spending two years as their test/reserve driver.
After three impressive seasons, he made the move to Mercedes from 2017 to 2021, where once again he impressed.
Since being replaced at Mercedes by George Russell, he joined Alfa Romeo (Sauber) until his contract wasn’t renewed for 2025.
Their current test/reserve driver is Zhou Guanyu. The Chinese driver partnered with Bottas for a couple of seasons at Sauber before also getting replaced for 2025.
As of the date of writing, ahead of the 2026 season opener, Audi has obviously not competed in any races, so have no statistics.
With the new regulations now at play, these first few races could determine what direction the teams go in for the rest of the season.
Next up is the most historic team on the grid, Ferrari.
