F1 Q&A: Verstappen, Russell and Mercedes; Hamilton, Dunne, Cadillac in 2026
What is Cadillac’s chances of survival in F1? Especially if we think that they started from scratch instead of taking over an existing team like Sauber and Audi. – man
Cadillac, the luxury brand of US car giant General Motors, is entering F1 with a new team next year in collaboration with the US Investment Group TWG.
They set up a team from scratch and will use a Ferrari customer engine until a custom -made GM engine is ready. The GM was accepted by FIA as a power-unit supplier from 2029.
The media was given a tour on the Cadillac factory site in Silverstone last week.
He said: “You will not see this team in any way. But we want to convey the fact that ambitions are really unlimited as they should be.”
Lowdon, who previously worked with Manor/Marussia and F1, said the team was realistic about what they can achieve next year.
He said: “Can you imagine whether you have a Formula 1 team for 10 years, and then another team is swinging and defeating you?
“And so you should assume that any new team will be the last, otherwise, what else is going wrong? We know how hard it is.”
The team is currently spread to six units in Silverstone. This will be rationalized in addition to the GM engine factory in Fishers, Indianapolis, which will be completed next year, and the GM engine factory in Charlotte, North Carolina, North Carolina.
To deal with this different installation, Lowdon says, “They say they have developed a highly flat management structure in the Apollo project. We don’t put a man in the moon, but sometimes it sounds.”
“Racing teams are often defined by military terms, organized with a kind of pyramid, and there is one person at the summit. And typical military structure is command and control. So you give commands, people do something.
“When there are many sites, it becomes a great challenge. Instead, it is a different structure with task control instead of command and control.
“Engineers can talk directly to each other. And what is largely given to them is the task itself.”
Twg and GM say they are in huge companies and long distance. Survival is not really a question. How successful they can be and in which time period is more unknown.
