First look: Cadillac shows off F1 livery for pre-season testing
Cadillac's first F1 livery has arrived, with a special look for pre-season testing in Barcelona.
Cadillac has revealed the first look at the car it will roll out with for pre-season testing in Barcelona later this month.
Cadillac’s first F1 livery has arrived, with the American team releasing a first look at the paint scheme it will use at the pre-season test in Barcelona in late January.
Cadillac reveals first F1 livery for 2026
Cadillac will use a special testing livery for the pre-season test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya between January 26th and 30th.
The livery was revealed by General Motors’ President Mark Reuss at GM’s new headquarters in Detroit on Tuesday, showcasing the paint scheme the F1 team will use for the closed-doors event in Barcelona.
The final livery will be revealed on February 8th, but the livery displayed in Detroit offers a first look at how the team will appear on track in Spain, utilising a clean monochrome concept. The livery likely does not offer any insight into the final version of the 2026 livery, with the team stating that it is “distinct” from the official version that will race this year.
According to the team, the testing livery “creates a striking and premium appearance by linking to a modern interpretation of the iconic Cadillac crest and shield, serving as a visual anchor across the car.
“The large Cadillac crest is draped elegantly over the rear to disguise the aero surfaces and to boldly showcase the arrival of Cadillac on the global sporting stage. The Cadillac precision geometric pattern is presented vertically throughout the race car in a gloss and matte sequence, which will help disguise the bodywork in an artful display of the brand’s DNA.”
The names of the founding members of the Cadillac F1 team, from both the United States and the UK, will be incorporated into the design.
Cadillac won’t be the only team utilising a one-off livery in Barcelona. As PlanetF1.com first revealed, a request has been made of the teams to run in a camouflage or blank livery if their 2026 cars have not been officially launched by the time of the test beginning.
Red Bull, Racing Bulls, Haas, Ferrari, Mercedes, and Alpine are all scheduled to hold launch events and reveals prior to January 26th, meaning Cadillac, Aston Martin, Williams, and McLaren are expected to roll out with blank or unique liveries for the test, although any of the teams can do so if desired.
For the pre-season tests in Bahrain, which removes the closed-door restriction of the Barcelona test, all the teams will be expected to show up in their season liveries as usual.
“Our new testing livery celebrates Detroit’s design heritage and the power of the global Cadillac Formula 1 team, while keeping our design secrets under wraps,” said Mark Reuss, President of General Motors.
“The Barcelona test is just the beginning — we can’t wait to share our official race livery with fans around the world next month.”
The final version of Cadillac’s F1 livery for 2026 will be revealed during the Super Bowl broadcast on American television.
Read Next: Explained: How F1’s new ‘overtaking mode’ will work in 2026