Cadillac chief executive Dan Towriss has admitted Formula 1’s new entrants are “building a ship while sailing it” but remains confident the team will be ready for the start of the 2026 season.
Following formal approval in March of Cadillac’s bid to become the 11th team on the grid next year, operations have accelerated in attempts to ensure the new squad can be immediately competitive.
Towriss, who is spearheading the project alongside team principal Graeme Lowdon, was in attendance at the Italian Grand Prix, where he gave an update on their progress.
“We are pretty much on schedule,” Towriss told Sky Sports F1. “We have good weeks and bad weeks because it’s not this linear progress.”
“We feel pretty good about the progress that’s been made to this point.”
The race to be ready for 2026 is perhaps further complicated by the fact the team are split across three bases, or four locations if you include the wind tunnel they are using in Cologne.
The team has two facilities in the US, along with a UK base at Silverstone, where Towriss confirmed the chassis is being designed.
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He said: “We have had a car in the wind tunnel, the 60 per cent scale model, for some time. We have been [using the wind tunnel] in Cologne and the team has been hard at work.”
“Even in the last two weeks we onboarded 50 people to the team. We are building a ship while we are sailing it.
“From real estate to building the company, getting all the resources together, we are putting things on shipping containers in a few weeks to show up in time for the race.
“All these pieces are coming together as we speak.”
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‘The right drivers at the right time’
Cadillac made two key signings in late August as veteran drivers Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas joined on multi-year deals, adding huge experience to the team.
Perez and Bottas have enjoyed lengthy spells at the sharp end of the grid with Red Bull and Mercedes, respectively, and both set to return fresh after missing out on seats in 2025.
Towriss said: “The [drivers’] pedigree, they know what to expect in the car, they’ve done it before, they’re very successful in their own right. They’re the right drivers at the right time.
“We did the analysis and experience is key. We took our time to decide and at the end of the analysis, experience was the key for us.”
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Towriss said he was particularly impressed by Perez during the interview process, admitting the impression the Mexican left dispelled thoughts of signing a younger driver.
“Checo’s experiences really came through. He nailed the meeting and we left really excited about his candidacy,” Towriss said.
“Maybe before that meeting we were maybe looking at a younger driver but Checo was fantastic and the experience really started to separate itself from those who have not been in the seat yet.”
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While the team ultimately didn’t fulfil a wide expectation that they would select at least one American driver, Towriss insists that culturally, Cadillac will be represent the US.
“From a cultural standpoint, it will, but it’s a global sport and we will be a global team,” he added.
“There are a lot of different accents on the team! But it will definitely have that American feel and affect how we think about partnerships, marketing, the storytelling, the culture.”
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