Cadillac F1: The new team’s next steps for Formula 1 success

With the clock counting down toward Cadillac F1’s debut in the premier form of open-wheel motorsport, work has been steady — but there are still several steps to accomplish before it can be called a job well done.

Today, we’re taking a look at the key next steps Cadillac F1 needs to take to find success in the sport.

Cadillac F1 Step 1: Hire staff

Per a recent article in Autosport, one of Cadillac F1’s primary goals is in hiring the staff that will keep the team up and running.

While Graeme Lowdon confirmed to PlanetF1.com that Cadillac has already hired over 300 employees, Autosport points out that internal documents show the team is targeting somewhere nearer to 600 personnel. Hiring now — and quickly — will be key in the team’s development.

A quick scan through Motorsport Jobs and LinkedIn highlights the sheer amount of roles still open and the work left to do. Jobs include:

• A composite designer who will contribute to the design of composite components and related tooling
• CFD heads and aerodynamic and CFD engineers to take on the ever-evolving challenge presented by aero in F1
• Surface design engineers
• Vehicle performance engineers
• Thermal aero engineers
• Electronics engineers and support
• Front of house assistants
• Communications managers
• Quality assurance managers
• Talent development advisors to train new employees
• Logistics coordinators to organize transportation

And that’s only just scratching the surface.

Still, that’s massive progress from where the team was before.

“We have a staff meeting every morning; a lot of people turn up for those, and a lot of people dial in from different locations because we’re spread out,” Lowdon told PlanetF1.com in Miami.

“I’ve got a photograph of the first one: There were just three of us there.”

“Now, we’re just under 400, and that’s going to double at some stage. It’s already rewarding seeing that.”

That being said, 400 employees is still far more than other teams on the grid, with Haas, for example, boasting around 330 total staff.

Cadillac F1 Step 2: Sponsors, sponsors, sponsors

In a round-table with select media ahead of the Miami Grand Prix, Dan Towriss — CEO of TWG Motorsports, the company in control of Cadillac F1 — admitted that sponsors are a key part of the team’s “commercial strategy.” That also involved potential title partners.

“We certainly want to have key American brands as anchors as part of our plan, but we’re on a global stage, so this isn’t an America-only strategy,” Towriss explained.

“So there are a lot of conversations happening. The interest has been tremendous from that standpoint as well and so a lot of that work has been taking place.”

In modern F1, sponsors are foundational to a team’s ability to operate, as they provide the critical funding necessary to run a team. While General Motors and Dan Towriss both have funds capable of supporting an F1 team, an attractive slate of sponsors will reduce the amount of personal investment required and will provide a sense of how well the team will be able to perform in F1.

While pure income does not necessarily guarantee World Championship worthy pace, it does open up the ability to invest in world-class personnel and facilities. The level of funding provided by sponsors will guide every decision the team makes in the future.

More on Cadillac in Formula 1:

👉 How ‘a good cake’ convinced ex-Manor boss to join the Cadillac F1 team

👉 How Cadillac aims to finally embody the ‘American dream’ in F1

Cadillac F1 Step 3: Testing

With staff hired and funding sorted, Cadillac’s next key step to F1 will be testing its machinery.

Per Autosport, Cadillac is looking at outsourcing plenty of components during its first few years, but that it has already built a chassis to be used for crash testing.

Further, a power unit is already in production; the team expects it to be completed by September.

But there is still plenty of testing to be done; crash testing will give way to wind tunnel testing, which will give way to early shake-downs during pre-season testing. There’s going to be plenty of trial and error well before the Cadillac ever actually makes it to a race track. And staff and sponsors will be critical to ensuring early testing can go off without a hitch.

Cadillac F1 Step 4: Driver selection

Fourth, Cadillac will need to hire its two drivers.

Why hold off on hiring until Step No. 4? That’s simple: Cadillac can make a more ideally tailored choice with the previous steps under its belt.

Hiring capable staff members quickly means work on the F1 2026 machine can speed away apace, while early wind tunnel and dyno testing can reveal potential areas of weakness in the car. Knowing those weaknesses, Cadillac can target a driver notable for his ability to sense, say, aerodynamic issues and make targeted suggestions for improvement.

Sorting out sponsors before the drivers also means that Cadillac can hit the driver market with a budget in mind — and determine whether or not it will need to hire a driver who comes with his own lucrative sponsorship package.

If Cadillac could use a boost in its coffers, it could, for example, hire a driver like Sergio Perez, who brings with him an impressive slate of brands that can take the place of a team-only sponsor.

Cadillac F1 Step 5: All about the power unit

Finally, with its team staff, sponsors, drivers, and car squared away, Cadillac will need to turn a large segment of its focus and resources to the development of its 2029 power train.

General Motors has already confirmed that work is underway on the Caddy PU, to the point where it has already undergone initial dynamometer testing. That’s a promising first step, but there’s far more work to be done before 2029.

In many ways, Cadillac’s focus with its F1 team as a whole should be targeted at improving and developing its PU. The outfit will race for two years with Ferrari power before it transforms into a GM works team, and those two years are largely going to be be build-up for the real debut, which will come with the PUs.

While it’s illegal for Cadillac to use any Ferrari data in constructing its own PU, it should absolutely use these first two years as a customer team to develop a stronger, hands-on understanding of what it takes to run an F1 team, and how to construct a chassis that plays well with its PU — and vice versa.

Read next: Cadillac F1: The ideal driver line-up to power the new American team to success