Cadillac Will Use The 2026 Super Bowl To Make Some Big Reveals
Most of us likely won't associate Cadillac with racing. But the luxury General Motors has had some success in endurance racing, especially in IMSA's GTP category and at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where it placed third in 2023. Cadillac has recently expanded its operations into Formula 1 as well, partnering with TWG Motorsports to form what looks to be a formidable racing team, at least on paper. We have the drivers: Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Pérez. We have the facilities: Fishers, Indiana; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Silverstone, U.K. (home of the racing circuit of the same name). But what we don't have is the car. Or, more specifically, what the car looks like.
Well, Cadillac has good news for those of us with a keen eye for liveries, because the company has announced (via a post on X) that it's debuting the official Cadillac F1 racing livery at the 2026 Super Bowl on February 8. The announcement came on December 3, 2025, a few days before the final race of the 2025 F1 season at Abu Dhabi, which saw Lando Norris take home his first Drivers' Championship and McLaren-Mercedes' second consecutive Constructors' Championship titles.
The livery is set. See you Super Bowl Sunday 👀
Mark your calendars 🔗 https://t.co/8AvMbPRebR pic.twitter.com/v4OhtpzG5k
— Cadillac Formula 1 Team (@Cadillac_F1) December 3, 2025
The fledgling team will undoubtedly be fighting an uphill battle against the likes of McLaren, Red Bull, and Mercedes, but Cadillac remains hopeful for respectable finishing positions. As for the livery itself, we'll be over here impatiently biding our time as we wait for the grand reveal of what's hopefully a pretty car, indeed. And if this news has got you excited, here's a helpful introduction to the world of Formula 1.
Cadillac's F1 team and ambitions
There's a common phrase in rally racing: "If you want to win, hire a Finn." Cadillac seem to have taken this lesson to heart, hiring Finn Valtteri Bottas to drive its first car. His record stands at a total of 10 Formula 1 victories and 67 podiums out of 246 starts since 2013. Sergio "Checo" Pérez, meanwhile, is a Mexican driver who won six Grands Prix out of 281 starts with 39 podium finishes. For comparison's sake, the current F1 Champion Lando Norris has a record of 152 Grands Prix entered with 11 wins and 44 podiums.
As for the car itself, Cadillac is initially entering using Ferrari powertrains, though the company has stated that it will switch over to American-made power before the end of the decade. Our first chance to see whether the Cadillac F1 car has pace will be at Bahrain between February 11 and 13, 2026, when official testing begins. However, preliminary testing behind closed doors will occur at Catalunya from January 26 to 30. The team's actual racing debut will be the season-opener in Melbourne.
New sports teams of any discipline will typically face teething issues, and we don't Cadillac Racing to be an exception. This will be the company's first foray into Formula 1, after all. However, its experience in other circuit racing disciplines will likely aid the development of its open-wheel racer. At any rate, if you want to watch Cadillac's debut live, here are your streaming options for the 2026 F1 season in the U.S.
What else is new in Formula 1 for 2026?
The main change for the upcoming season will be the powertrains. 2026 will bring brand-new engines that will look way different from their 2025 counterparts, relying more on electric propulsion than ever before for motive power. This has upsides and downsides, namely the emphasis it'll place upon energy recovery systems and strategic overtaking. Moreover, teams will use 100% renewable fuels, aiming to raise awareness amidst growing environmental concerns.
What this means for Cadillac is that the rookie team is actually on a fairly even playing field. If everyone has to reinvent the wheel, then a new team coming in and upsetting the usual top runners is theoretically possible. More good news for Cadillac is that GM Performance Power Units were approved for racing use by the FIA in April 2025, with Cadillac aiming to deploy American power units by 2029. Whether Cadillac will surprise us or not is a matter of pure speculation at this point. But with all the shake-ups happening in Formula 1 for 2026, including Audi's entry to the competition, there's every chance that the American team may well shake things up. We'll certainly have our fingers crossed.