Back at the Miami Grand Prix, several key personnel involved in the Cadillac 2026 F1 project updated the media on progress.
Personnel included Cadillac owner General Motors President Mark Reuss, Cadillac Team Principal Graeme Lowdon, who previously worked at Virgin and Marussia’s F1 teams in the same role, and Dan Towriss, the CEO of TWG Motorsports, who run the team.
Development of F1’s newest car
Towriss talked about the development of the 2026 Cadillac F1 car, which will be the debut for General Motors in Formula One. The iconic brand has never raced in the sport’s 75-year history.
“We’re building cars, we have been in the wind tunnel for a long time and the chassis has arrived. There are so many work streams happening all at once. The integration of the teams [GM and TWG] – it’s something that we think is going to set us apart.”
While the team will initially use Ferrari power, Cadillac will eventually debut its own power unit in 2029. They join Haas as Ferrari engine customers. Reuss mentioned that they fired up their V6 turbo hybrid unit for the first time a week prior to the Miami Grand Prix weekend.
Personnel
Lowdon has experience in F1, but he is not the only Cadillac staffer to have F1 experience. Among the personnel onboard include ex-Arrows, Benetton, Lotus and Renault employee Nick Chester as Technical Director, a role he previously worked in at Renault. Rob White, who also worked at Renault, as Chief Operating Officer and former Haas Team Manager Pete Crolla. The biggest hire is arguably former Benetton, Renault and Williams technical boss Pat Symonds as an Executive Engineering Consultant.
As well as this, GM and Cadillac already have 350 staff. Over 1,000 employees expected to be working for them eventually, with three sites in Indianapolis, Charlotte and Silverstone.
Drivers
The question of who will be the duo behind the wheel of the Cadillac is yet to be answered. Drivers rumoured to be in the seat include Valtteri Bottas, Sergio Perez, Zhou Guanyu—who is managed by Lowdon—, Mick Schumacher, Fredrik Vesti, Pato O’Ward and Colton Herta. Despite this, Towriss remained quite relaxed around the situation.
“We’re not in a hurry to select a driver, There’s a lot that goes into selecting your pilot for F1, so we’re taking our time. The list certainly includes the names that many people are talking about. Though I do get a kick out of waking up each day and reading that we’re in final stages of contract [when we are not]!
“[Driver] performance is one thing but experience is another. This is a new entry and getting the feedback on the car from that standpoint is going to be crucially important.
“You’re not just talking about what is on track but on the sim. There’s a lot of aspects to that. We’re assimilating as much information as we can to really be diligent, take our time and make the right decision.”
Prospect of an American driving for the team
One driver heavily linked to the project is Herta. Herta’s connections to the Andretti family run deep, as he has driven for the Andretti Global team in IndyCar since 2020. California native Herta had an impressive 2024, finishing runner-up to Alex Palou in the IndyCar standings.
TWG bought the team in 2024, but Michael and Mario Andretti remain involved as consultants. As a result, they are still influential in decision-making relating to the programme.
Cadillac are committed to having an American driver. Despite this, Towriss stated that whilst there will not be an American on the F1 grid driving for them in 2026.
“We’re committed to having an American driver – it’s important to all of us to do it the right way,” he says. “It’s not a gimmick to just grab somebody and drop them in the seat, because it’s important to us that they are successful.
“We want that person set up for success. We want that seat respected for when an American driver does come in for the team. We’re formulating that plan – we’re committed to that.”
Cadillac’s young driver programme includes the likes of Sebastian and Oliver Wheldon. Sebastian has moved into European racing, competing in Italian F4 this year, while Oliver is doing USF Juniors in America. Sebastian and Oliver are the sons of late IndyCar champion and two-time Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon.
Towriss added that the purpose of the programme is “developing American drivers to get them ready, whether it’s something that is more long-term or something that is more immediate.”
Expectations for Cadillac F1
Similarly to fellow debutant Audi, Cadillac are not expecting to be quick from the get-go. Towriss was honest about expectations.
“For me, success is multifaceted. It starts with seeing success on track. We want to build our fandom for [the] Cadillac F1 team and we want commercial success – and we’re here not to just look like everyone else.
“We want to move F1 forward, we want to be fresh, bold, new – so it’s about finding ways to do that and really accomplish that in F1. When we look at all those things together, I think that’s what is going to define success to F1.”
Reuss expanded on Towriss’ point: “We’re in for the long-haul. We’re going to do what is best [for] day one, but we’re going to do what’s best for us Year Five and beyond. We’ll keep doing what is best for the long-term.”
