The quiet hum of the Imola Circuit in Italy recently belied the magnitude of the event unfolding on the asphalt. It was the site of one of the most unexpected sights in Formula 1: Sergio “Checo” Perez, the veteran Mexican driver, back behind the wheel of an F1 car, but one painted in a plain, aggressive all-black livery, emblazoned not with the Prancing Horse, but secretly representing the dawn of a new American era.

This intensive test session, which concluded on the second day, was far more than a routine shakedown. It was the first major, real-world on-track activity for the nascent Cadillac F1 team and a crucial, fascinating glimpse into how the American giant is aggressively preparing for its high-stakes debut season. The sheer spectacle of Perez driving a Ferrari for a team that is not Ferrari immediately sparked global discussion and laid bare the intricate, often convoluted, world of F1 regulations and strategic partnerships.

The Engine of Necessity: Why Cadillac is Driving a Ferrari

The immediate question that dominated the F1 paddock and social media feeds was simple: Why a Ferrari? The answer lies within the sport’s rigorous rulebook. As a brand new team, Cadillac simply does not possess a two-year-old car of its own that would be permitted under the Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) rules. To circumvent this critical obstacle and gain invaluable track time, Cadillac executed a strategic masterstroke by forming a technical partnership with the legendary Scuderia Ferrari. This arrangement sees Ferrari supplying Cadillac with essential technical components—engines, gearboxes, and suspension—for their initial years.

This agreement, sealed by necessity and opportunity, allowed the new American outfit to lease and utilize a previous-spec Ferrari SF-23 for this vital first test. The black, unmarked livery of the car was a clear signal: while the hardware was Italian, the mission, the strategy, and the personnel were all American. This complex logistical operation saw approximately 20 Cadillac engineers and mechanics working shoulder-to-shoulder with 30 experienced staff from Ferrari’s own test team. It was a melting pot of new ambition and established excellence, all focused on one singular goal: operational readiness.

The True Test: People Over Performance

Crucially, the primary objective of this intensive session was not to chase headlines with blistering lap times. It was, as Cadillac Team Principal Graeme Loen made explicitly clear, to test the human element of the team.

“We’re not testing the car, we’re testing the people,” Loen stated emphatically. “The advantage that we want is for our mechanics to have the same experience that all the mechanics in this pit lane are having every day.”

For months, the new Cadillac crew had practiced relentlessly in the digital environment of a simulator. This Imola test marked their very first opportunity to function as a cohesive unit in a live, high-pressure track environment. This real-world crucible involved performing crucial pit stops, rapidly making setup adjustments, and analyzing real-time data under the watchful eyes of their Ferrari mentors and the motorsport world. This philosophy underscores Cadillac’s deep understanding that success in Formula 1 demands more than just a powerful car and a generous budget; it requires seamless communication, absolute trust, and operational excellence that can only be honed through the relentless repetition of real-world practice.

The lessons learned here, in the cold air of the Imola paddock, will be infinitely more valuable than any simulation, forging the deep, instinctive chemistry required between driver, engineer, and mechanic that ultimately wins races.

Checo’s Triumphant, Grueling Comeback

For Sergio Perez, this test was a profound personal milestone and a critical first step in his return to the Grand Prix grid. Having parted ways with Red Bull at the close of the previous season, the veteran took his first significant break from competitive motorsport in nearly two decades. His absence had lasted a significant period, making his return to the F1 cockpit a moment of intense self-scrutiny.

Perez himself admitted to being “curious” about his physical limits after such an extended layoff, even jesting about the toll on his body, saying, “I’m curious, you know, to find out how many laps my neck will do before it gets destroyed.”

The results were nothing short of astonishing. Over the two days, Perez demonstrated a remarkable, almost unbelievable level of physical preparedness and endurance, completing a massive 190 laps, equating to 93 kilometres of running. He powered through 99 laps on the first day and followed it up with another 91 on the second. This level of sustained endurance, following a significant period away from the incredible G-forces of an F1 machine, speaks volumes about the dedication Perez has shown in maintaining his elite physical conditioning during his break. The test was a clear, emphatic declaration: Checo is back, physically ready, and hungry for the next chapter of his career.

While the team was not prioritizing pace, the lap times offered a tantalizing point of discussion. Perez’s best lap was a reported 1 minute 18.822 seconds. Intriguingly, this time, achieved in a two-year-old car that he was entirely unfamiliar with, was nearly a second faster than Charles Leclerc’s earlier benchmark of 1 minute 19.74 seconds, set during the only dry practice session for Ferrari’s first ground-effect car. While track conditions and other factors always play a role, this suggests a fundamentally solid baseline performance from the veteran driver, even as the team insisted he was focusing on process, not pushing the absolute limit.

Perez’s personal take was overwhelmingly positive, highlighting the importance of building rapport with his new team. “It’s a great test and a great way to finish the preparations before getting back in the car for the upcoming season,” he reflected. For him, the test was a vital opportunity “to be able to get together with the engineers and mechanics, start working all together, you know, start talking the same language.” This early integration, building that crucial lexicon of communication and trust, is the bedrock upon which any successful race team is built.

Time Is the Enemy: Cadillac’s Compressed Deadline

The success of the test only serves to highlight the enormity of the challenge Cadillac now faces. Team Principal Graeme Loen revealed the truly alarming nature of their timeline: the team’s F1 entry was only recently confirmed, leaving them with an impossibly small window to prepare for their debut season.

“Time is the enemy in a project like this,” Loen stressed, outlining the unyielding deadline: “because we know we’ll be racing in the initial event of their debut season and that deadline can’t be extended.”

The pressure of this compressed timeline is perhaps the greatest external challenge the team faces. Where established F1 teams have multiple seasons to develop their infrastructure, hire staff, and establish operational protocols, Cadillac is racing against a ticking clock. Their goals are audacious: the plan is to fire up the engine of their very own car for the first time soon, with the first track run of the actual Cadillac F1 machine scheduled just ahead of the official preseason test. This aggressive schedule means that every single day is critical, leaving zero margin for significant delays or debilitating setbacks in their complex development program.

A Clean Slate and a World-Class Duo

Cadillac is entering the sport at a time of major regulatory upheaval for the debut season, a challenge that Loen views as a significant, albeit risky, opportunity. “The advantage for us is that with this major regulation change all teams face a new challenge, including ours,” he explained. “No one knows where they’ll be.” While the steep uphill climb is undeniable for the new team, they also enjoy the immense advantage of a clean slate. They are not tied to any previous car concepts or existing design paths, a freedom that could potentially enable them to explore innovative, even radical, design solutions that established, infrastructure-heavy teams might overlook due to their existing frameworks.

To maximize this opportunity, the team has been shrewd in its staff selection, noting they have thousands of combined years of F1 experience, even if they have been working together as a team for less than a year. The driver lineup, however, is the clearest statement of intent and a massive insurance policy: pairing Sergio Perez with Valtteri Bottas gives Cadillac one of the most experienced duos on the grid. With a combined total of over 500 Grand Prix starts, this wealth of proven experience will be absolutely crucial in guiding the new team through the inevitable trials, tribulations, and performance plateaus of their inaugural season.

The strategic partnership with Ferrari, extending beyond the TPC test, is a genius move for the long term. By using Ferrari’s power units and technical expertise for the initial years, Cadillac is able to sharply focus on the most important tasks: building the team, learning the operational rhythms of the sport, and rapidly developing their own infrastructure. They avoid the crippling added pressure of having to immediately create a competitive engine from scratch. This arrangement provides a solid, competitive foundation, positioning them to be well-established and ready to take the next, massive step when General Motors’ own bespoke engine is scheduled to arrive eventually.

For Sergio Perez, the test was a vital personal reset. After a difficult end to his Red Bull tenure, where his results often failed to meet the team’s lofty expectations, this was a chance to start fresh with a clean, high-potential project. Perez has always been lauded as a strong team player and a driver capable of extracting performance from cars that are inherently difficult or challenging to drive. His past success at teams like Force India, where he consistently punched above the car’s theoretical weight, will be invaluable. He possesses the kind of knowledge that cannot be taught in a simulator—the institutional wisdom of how to build a team from the ground up and how to collaborate with engineers to steadily develop a car over the course of an entire season. This deep, practical know-how is arguably one of Cadillac’s greatest, most priceless assets.

Ultimately, the Imola test was a resounding success for Cadillac. It achieved its primary goal of testing the people, building essential team chemistry, and—not least of all—giving their lead driver a significant, confidence-boosting mileage haul after a significant period away from the sport. The impressive tally of 190 laps and 93 kilometres completed by Perez is a testament to the reliability of the supplied Ferrari package and, more importantly, the nascent operational readiness of the new Cadillac crew. While the true, definitive test of their readiness and speed will only come in their debut season, this strategic, well-executed first step at Imola was a confident and aggressive move by Formula 1’s newest, most ambitious contender. The clock is still ticking, but Cadillac has proven they are fully capable of racing the enemy—time—and winning the early battles.