The Cadillac Formula 1 Team got its first Formula 1 season officially underway today, with Valtteri Bottas and Checo Perez taking to the Albert Park Circuit for two practice sessions ahead of Sunday's Australian Grand Prix. Over the two sessions the pair completed 68 laps in the MAC-26.

Checo Perez: "Today is just the start. I was very proud to be out on track in the first-ever practice session for Cadillac Formula 1 Team. While there are a lot of small details that we need to clean up, overall it was a big step for the team to get two cars out there, running, and building up the mileage. With the spirit and the experience this team has, I am certain we will progress. For now, we are aiming to take it step by step - starting with having a more straightforward day tomorrow to build into qualifying."

Valtteri Bottas: "First of all, great to be out there, and thank you to the whole team for getting the car ready. We had some challenges with the car build, but without the curfew, the team made the most out of it. So, that's why it felt great to get out there and personally, as well, to be back on an F1 race weekend, and for us to complete our first ever day as Cadillac Formula 1 Team at a Formula 1 Grand Prix weekend. So, all in all, not a trouble-free day but we learned from each lap. We have lots of good data with day one done, and we'll try to be better tomorrow."

Graeme Lowdon, Team Principle: "Tomorrow will be the one-year anniversary of Cadillac Formula 1 Team receiving our entry into F1. I have a very grounded appreciation of just what it takes to build a team - particularly in this short time - and to now field two cars against the best in the world. It is a huge testament to the work of the entire team in Indianapolis, Charlotte and Silverstone. I am fortunate to have had a front-row seat to see just what's been achieved by everybody, and I'd like to thank not just everybody in the team, but everybody behind them; the family members and friends. That's the rock that we build our team on."

Pat Symonds, Executive Engineer: "Today has marked a moment in history for the team. A very proud moment for an awful lot of people who put a lot of faith into the project, and an incredible amount of hard work. We had a challenging day with Checo with two totally unrelated problems this afternoon. One of which was in the fuel system, which we had to take the energy store out to get at it, so we were very late going out. Then we went out and unfortunately had a hydraulic leak. Teething troubles but we'll get through them. We had a pretty good day with Valtteri. We were able to learn more about the car and tires. We did the work we needed to do and got the answers we needed to get. We go into tomorrow with a lot more knowledge."

Check out our Friday gallery from Melbourne here.