Cadillac announced an exciting new signing just days after Ferrari’s announcement.

Graeme Lowdon has sealed a new signing for his team (Image: Getty)

Graeme Lowdon has explained the decision to bring Zhou Guanyu into the Cadillac stable, just three days after his exit from Ferrari was confirmed. The Chinese racer spent the 2025 season on the sidelines with the legendary Italian constructor after he was axed by Sauber the previous year.

Zhou raced in F1 for three seasons before Sauber executed a driver line-up shake-up ahead of the 2025 campaign, bringing in Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg. Instead of pursuing a career in another racing division, the 26-year-old has stuck around in the F1 paddock, chasing a new opportunity

After limited on-track opportunities with Ferrari in 2025, Zhou has switched to the new Cadillac squad for 2026. Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez make up the American squad’s driver line-up, while former IndyCar stalwart Colton Herta is a test driver as he gears up for a much-anticipated Formula Two campaign.

Explaining the decision to add Zhou to Cadillac’s line-up, team principal Graeme Lowdon told F1.com: “You’ll see from the race driver selection that, as a new team, we’ve put a lot of emphasis on experience and driver experience, and clearly Zhou is very, very experienced.

“He’s had three years of racing in Formula One, and so, unlike some of the other candidates – who may well have very good credentials in the junior formula and are looking perhaps to get a foothold into Formula One – the key thing for us, throughout the entire driver line-up, is to work with very, very experienced people who can contribute to the overall programme.

“I think it’s very easy to underestimate just what is needed to bring a new team into Formula One; as you know, Formula One is unbelievably competitive. It’s highly complex, it’s such a big step from any other formula, and so having drivers throughout the whole driver programme who just know exactly what they’re doing.

Zhou Guanyu has signed for Cadillac (Image: Getty)

“And none of this is new to any of them, apart from the fact it’s a brand-new team – is really, really important. That played a big factor in the selection of Zhou.”

Zhou brings with him an understanding of the Ferrari power unit that will underpin Cadillac’s debut campaign in 2026. “I have a lot of respect for Ferrari,” Lowdon continued. “It’s a team we’ve worked with before in the past; I know the people there very well.

“I know just how highly they valued Zhou’s input in 2025, which was another big factor for us. It also means that, in some way, that Zhou staying in that overall family, he’s had experience of development and experience of the 2026 tyres, and also just experience in operating in a top-class, very competitive team.

“So from our point of view, it just ticked all of the boxes in so many ways; the experience, the direct experience with Ferrari, who are our partner for the power unit and the gearbox, and so it just made a lot of sense for him to join the team.”