Cadillac had difficulty ‘starting the engine’ in their first-ever Formula 1 test at Silverstone

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Cadillac completed their first-ever Formula 1 laps at the Silverstone circuit on Friday. The team posted a video on social media showing reserve driver Zhou Guanyu lapping the circuit.

Last November, Sergio Perez tested a 2023 Ferrari at Imola, supported by Cadillac staff. But this was the team’s first time running their 2026 car.

They are the first team to put the new Ferrari power unit through its paces, around a week and a half before the first pre-season test in Barcelona.

Cadillac are running a blacked-out livery, aside from their logo, before they reveal their 2026 design during a Superbowl commercial on 8 February.

Cadillac ran into some problems during Silverstone shakedown

Like Audi a week earlier, Cadillac conducted the test with a high degree of secrecy. Team members even had to cover up the cameras on their phones with a sticker.

Only the team’s filming crew were authorised to take any shots of the car. They don’t want their rivals to know about their design choices while it’s still avoidable.

Still, Motorsport.com has discovered some key details about the test. Cadillac apparently ‘encountered some difficulties’ in the morning before they successfully started their engine.

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When Zhou did get out, the track still appeared to be damp, which isn’t ideal for data-gathering. But in a shakedown like this, where the mileage is limited to 200km, functionality is more important than lap times.

Reporting from Silverstone, journalist Jorge Peiro said they were ‘still trying to get out on track’ as late as 3pm, only an hour and 25 minutes before sunset. This tallies with the fading light in Cadillac’s social media clip.

Ferrari customer teams disagree about the 2026 power unit

While the video showed Zhou, who has recently joined from Ferrari, Sergio Perez was also at Silverstone for what is technically a filming day.

In a recent interview, Cadillac advisor Mario Andretti expressed total confidence in Ferrari’s engine. It’s unclear whether the issues on Friday were caused by the Italian manufacturer’s power unit.

Ferrari themselves posted a video on social media only hours later of the SF-26 being fired up for the first time.

Cadillac’s fellow customer Haas expect Mercedes to be ahead of Ferrari when it comes to horsepower, with Ayao Komatsu admitting his uncertainty about the performance of the engine.