14/09/2025 17:30
Cadillac F1 team principal Graeme Lowdon has explained why the
"spark of excitement" displayed by Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez
when he signed them will be critical next season. The Briton shared
how the pair reacted to being told they had secured their F1
futures with the American project, which makes its debut in F1 in
2026. In Bottas and Perez, the General Motors-backed operation has
one of the most experienced driver combinations in championship
history, boasting 527 starts between them, along with 16 victories
and 106 podiums. That experience will be key for F1's newest team,
and Lowdon hopes their shared enthusiasm will help "gel everything
together" next term. "It was great to see the reaction of the
drivers as well," Lowdon told Formula 1. "Obviously, it's clear for
everyone we've gone for experience with Valtteri and Checo [Sergio
Perez]. "But when we told each driver, there was that spark of
excitement as well, and, for me, that's what I look for. "Then we
look for their enthusiasm because if you have an enthusiastic
driver line-up, that helps gel everything together. "And that's
what we're building now, it's a team and teams are all about
people, and it's bringing all those people together." Differing
paths Having both failed to retain their seats in F1 for the
current campaign, Bottas and Perez have taken divergent approaches
to their season on the sidelines. Whilst the former has returned to
Mercedes as reserve driver, the latter has stepped away from F1
entirely after being fired by Red Bull. "I don't think he will have
forgotten how to drive, that's for sure," Lowdon remarked about the
Mexican driver. "He's doing a bit of karting and we'll have him on
the simulator quite soon. "We're going to do some testing in
real-world cars as well. So I've got no doubts that he'll be back
up to speed in time. "Obviously, one of the advantages that we have
in 2026 is unlike a normal championship year, where there's only
three days of testing, for 2026, there's going to be an initial
test in Barcelona and then two additional tests in Bahrain. "We'll
have three times the amount of testing, so that will help get them
up to speed as well." As for his Finnish future team-mate, Lowdom
is pleased he has remained in the paddock, keeping "sharp" over the
season. "With Valtteri, it'll help a lot [that he's been with
Mercedes] because there's a lot that is new in 2026 in terms of
tyres and power units in particular," he added. "So having an
experienced driver like Valtteri, who's up to speed on that kind of
thing, is valuable. "The drivers don't get to see the in-depth
design secrets and all the rest of it, but I think it's quite
valuable to have a driver who hasn't left the paddock, so each
weekend he'll be in all the engineering meetings, his mind staying
sharp."
