Cadillac has published a behind-the-scenes video detailing how it built and launched its first Formula 1 livery reveal ahead of the 2026 season. Shown to the public during the Super Bowl, the car has since been watched by fans as it has taken part in testing in Bahrain.
The American entrant will join the grid as F1’s 11th team after a long and challenging process. With backing from General Motors and the Cadillac badge on its side, it was finally able to pull together the value the championship was looking for in an additional team to bring. Now, leaning into its American identity, it has anchored itself to the idea of going to the moon as President John F. Kennedy’s famous 1962 speech played over the livery reveal video.
“This is the biggest underdog story you could imagine,” CEO Dan Towriss told viewers. “This is the first livery for the Cadillac Formula 1 team. We wanted to bring it to the biggest stage. We’re showing the livery in a way that’s never been done before.”
The car for the video was constructed and filmed in a virtual production studio, similar to that used on the likes of Disney’s The Mandalorian. This massive screen projects a background that’s able to move with the camera, allowing for incredible depth while having realistic lighting and reflections.
“I wanted the film to feel quite future-facing,” director Sam Pilling said. “Something that felt really quite iconic, timeless. But also, this was a real moment – while also taking viewers on this journey of the blood, sweat, and tears that have gone into getting Cadillac to the starting line, to the grid.”
Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac Racing
Photo by: Guido De Bortoli / LAT Images via Getty Images
VFX supervisor Andrew Proctor added: “Great visual effects always start with something in-camera. We need to make sure that this film speaks to those F1 fans and gets everything accurate because it’s just a detail-oriented sport.”
The advert has been suggested to have cost somewhere in the region of $20million according to Towriss, who is expecting the team to only start making this back in its third year of operating.
“It’s probably a couple of years before on an operating basis the team would be in the black or breaking even on a cash basis,” he said. “I think we’re ahead of what our projections were, knowing what it was going to take to get into Formula 1.”
The video ends with a message from Pilling: “I hope people feel a real sense of excitement and anticipation for Cadillac joining F1,” he said. “Ultimately, I guess, give Americans a bit of a sense of pride that like they’re now in the F1 scene.”
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