The clock is ticking for Cadillac ahead of its F1 debut: “400 days until the car starts”

That's it, the Cadillac adventure is really concrete! A few months after the validation of its arrival in Formula 1 as the eleventh team in 2026, announced at the end of November, the American firm can now – like the ten other teams – work on the aerodynamics of its very first car. Since January 1st, all teams can use the wind tunnel and CFD to design their 1 F2026, and this obviously applies to the new General Motors team.

Cadillac and the teams at TWG Global – which also includes the Andretti structure – now have a year to design a Formula 1 car from scratch… or almost. The backbone of Cadillac’s future F1 is already known, since GM has partnered with Ferrari for the supply of engines and gearboxes from the Italian manufacturer.

On January 1st, the American team also registered a major arrival in its ranks: the experienced Pat Symonds, a renowned engineer who has notably worked with Toleman, Benetton, Renault et Williams, has officially taken up his new role as executive engineering advisor for Cadillac F1 Team. At 71, the Briton is embarking on an incredible new challenge, perhaps the biggest of his long career. “It’s an exciting challenge because, if the 2026 pre-season testing follows the pattern of 2014 – when we last had a new power unit – we have less than 400 days until the car starts running”, recalls Pat Symonds in a LinkedIn post.

Create a new team, « a daunting but well-documented task”

Despite the immense task of creating and building a team in such a short time, especially in our era where the arrival of a new team is extremely rare (no new team since Haas, in 2016), Pat Symonds is confident in General Motors' ability to give itself the means to achieve its ambitions and create a competitive team in its first year in Formula 1. The 71-year-old executive emphasizes that the recruitment and efforts already made in the last two years, when Andretti was a candidate for a Formula 1 arrival, will be essential for the development of Cadillac F1 Team. Let us recall that the American team has already recruited highly rated engineers, such as Rob White as COO and Nick Chester as Technical Director.

“Building a Formula 1 car is a daunting but well-documented task, says the British engineer. The timelines and pathways are well established, and the team already has a large number of experienced people who have been designing and developing the car for some time. Alongside them, others have put in place the processes needed to ensure we can meet the tight deadlines and unwavering quality that Formula 1 demands. At the same time, we are putting in place the infrastructure needed to meet this challenge at our Silverstone base. Starting from scratch presents far more opportunities than challenges. The team will be built on not only the highest engineering standards, but also the highest ESG standards, and we will strive to make it the best team to work for in Formula 1.”

The American team based in Fishers, Indiana (with a branch in Silverstone, England), must also find its two drivers to launch the project in 2026. Several names are on the list of contenders, with Colton Herta as the favorite, but no official indication has been given by Cadillac at the time of writing.

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