Inside Cadillac F1’s next steps: Crash tests, staff recruitment and drivers

At a glitzy event held in Miami, the Cadillac Formula 1 team unveiled the squad’s logo in true American style before a large group of guests, including the team’s top management, potential sponsors and many VIPs. Behind that eye-catching facade is a project that is taking shape in a real race against time.

More than two years have passed since the Andretti Global team first officially applied to enter F1, and a lot of water has passed under the imaginary bridge connecting Europe and the United States since then. The events leading up to the entry of General Motors (which will use the Cadillac brand) into F1 were thorny, even going so far as to involve the U.S. Congress, and in such a climate investors were forced to put the programme on standby, a long wait that ended 7 March, the date on which the green light was officially lit.

The backers of the programme, Mark Walter and Dan Towriss, previously exposed themselves by taking on the cost of setting up and staffing the team’s Silverstone site, where the single-seater engineering activities will be carried out, without a proper entry. Now Cadillac is officially in, the nascent team has seen frantic levels of activity to get ready for 2026.

Now there are whispers in the paddock that to save time, project managers are considering drawing heavily from outside suppliers. The partnership with Ferrari will guarantee not only the supply of the power unit but also the gearbox and rear suspension, while aerodynamic development has already begun in the Toyota wind tunnel in Cologne.

The rumours of a partnership with Dallara, regarding a collaboration for the construction of the chassis, are persistent but over the Miami weekend it transpired that the team has already built a body used for crash tests, tests that would have been passed but with a chassis well over the weight target set by engineers. That shouldn’t be too much of a surprise as every team is fighting against the aggressive 2026 weight limit.

According to sources close to the team, the team’s final organisational chart calls for about 600 employees, about half of whom are currently operational (under the leadership of technical director Nick Chester) due in part to the gardening leave that several figures from other teams are serving.

In parallel, the power unit project that is slated to debut in 2029 has also begun. In this case all the work is being done in the United States, at the Charlotte headquarters that houses General Motors’ motorsport programmes. Work has begun with the creation of a single-cylinder unit, the first step in a V6 that should be ready in September.

The huge investment required for the project cannot run the risk of being thrown to the wind by new decisions by the FIA regarding F1’s future power unit direction, which is why work has continued at a reduced pace in recent months. Now the doubts seem to have been put to rest, confirmation of which also comes from a massive order for test benches commissioned from the Austrian specialist firm AVL.

The investment and design work will have to comply with the budget limits imposed by the power unit regulations. In the first three years the maximum expenditure is set at $210 million, which will be aligned with the other engine manufacturers from the first year of on-track operation.

Although not considered one of the most urgent topics despite widespread interest, consultations on the driver market have begun at Cadillac. Initial movements show how the team is considering experienced candidates, and it is becoming ever more likely that the start-up team will want to avoid rookie drivers. For this reason the initial candidacy of Colton Herta has fizzled out, with the Californian having to wait until the end of the IndyCar championship late August to be certain of being able to obtain a superlicence.

There was a lot of talk in Miami about Sergio Perez, with rumours that the Mexican would even be present at Cadillac’s Saturday night event. The only driver actually present at the event was Mick Schumacher, who is hoping for an opportunity, but Perez still remains on the list. Along with Perez, team principal Graeme Lowdon’s shortlist features Zhou Guanyu, Valtteri Bottas, and Felipe Drugovich, who although he has never competed in a grand prix, is believed to be a driver with a good knowledge of the F1 world after years of being an Aston Martin reserve.