In every sense, the clock fits Cadillac’s entrance to Formula 1 next year.
In March, Cadillac, backed by General Motors and TWG Motorsports, received final approval from Formula 1, extending the network to 11 teams for the first time since 2016.
“We just got the entrance, one of the things that changed is that they put a countdown clock at the factory at Silverstone,” said Dan Towriss, chief executive of TWG Motorsports, in an interview in April. The company is a part of the TWG Global, which has a sports portfolio that includes the Chelsea football club and Los Angeles Dodgers and Lakers.
“We know exactly how many days for the engine he shot, how many days in the first race,” he said. “So we have to think about it because there is so much work to do now.
Cadillac entrance began life as Andretti Formula two years ago. FIA, the Formula 1 administrative body, approved the proposal by Michael Andretti, the original force behind the offer. A few months later, it was rejected by Formula 1.
In an interview a year ago with the New York Times, Andretti said he would fight. Last fall, he returned as CEO of Andretti Global, who holds teams in Indycar, Formula E, Extreme E and Australia’s supercars. It decided “it is time for the baton to pass” to Towriss’s business partner.
“In terms of Michael, he was very grand in some way,” said Towriss, who has met Andretti since 2017. “He did not want to stand on the way to this work.
“It was a long process, a taxation process and so he chose to get away. He was not asked to get away. He was not asked to leave, I think he saw that an acceptance level was not there for him.”
Towriss said the move “opened the door” with Formula 1. Five months later, Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula 1, welcomed Cadillac.
With GM’s commitment to bring a Cadillac team, Domenicali said: “It was an important and positive demonstration of the evolution of our sport.”
Cadillac will become the second US automaker to have a presence in the sport. Ford will provide Red Bull power units, also starting in 2026.
Towriss is sad that Andretti resigned. “Just huge respect for what family heritage is in motorized sports, for him personally, for Mario and the family in this respect,” he said, referring to his father Andretti.
“My personal opinion is that everything felt a little unjustly to stand out in this way,” he said. “For his faith, at some point, you just have to accept the situation for what it is and go ahead. With his blessing, we did.”
Throughout the process, the team did not stand still. The workers were hired and the installation at Silverstone, England, opened a year ago to complement its headquarters near Indianapolis. Formula 1 approval has accelerated project development.
Without a guarantee of Formula 1 acceptance, the company had to be committed. “It wasn’t for the dims of the heart,” Towriss said.
“It takes a long time to build a Formula 1 team. I don’t think anyone on our part, or anyone who knows the sport, thinks you can simply appear in a short time.
“If we had waited to the point where they were approved and then we said,” Great, now let’s start hiring people, let’s start building “, we will be very far from the races at this point.”
Towriss said that Graeme Lowdon, a long -term Formula 1 manager who informed the team, was a big seller to persuade people to join the team. Lowdon was Managing Director of Defunct Manor Racing now.
He was also a team for the acquisition of 2020 of the Williams Formula 1 team by Dorilton Capital, a private investment company whose headquarters is in New York.
In December, Lowdon was announced as head of the Cadillac team. “At first, much of the tips was to tell them to start building the team now,” he said in an interview in April.
“Then my commitment changed because they said,” Okay, we’re happy with all these tips. Now you are asking us to build a group. Can you go by providing tips to do it? “I guess I should have gained their trust and they must have confidence in what I do because they asked me then to be the Lord of the team.”
The offer of the post did not come out of the blue. “Even at our entrance, I was down as head of the team,” he said. “For two years now, on our race license – and we have a racial leave and international race license – is my picture of it. This was something that is projected quite early.”
During the two years, Lowdon never doubted that the offer would fail. “There is absolutely no scenario on Earth where you could keep a perfectly good sports team from competing in a world championship,” he said, though there was consistency.
“The thing that worries me and stressed me a lot, and I have to say that it took a tax on me a long time was that it is one thing that says it will surely happen. It’s another one saying when.
“We fully respected the process. Our role was to answer questions, but there are only many of what you can do. This was an unpleasant and extremely difficult time.”
The team has about 350 employees, with a target of 550 by the end of the year. Pat Symonds, a former head of Formula 1 technician, has become the Executive Consultant. And Nick Chester, when a Renault technical director is the chief technician.
“I thought it would be extremely difficult to hire people, but it was much easier than I thought,” Lowdon said. “The reality is that we were very lucky. We were able to be many of the first discussions with basic people who came to the boat shared the vision.”
“On the day that our entrance was confirmed, we wrote them, with an old-fashioned letter, it was not an email” At-all “, the reason for that was that everyone had taken a piece of faith jump and we wanted to show our appreciation personally.”
For the first three seasons, Cadillac will be powered by Ferrari engines until GM builds its power unit, which will debut in 2029.
Mark Reuss, president of GM, said in an interview in April that it was “a moment full of pride, a truly historical event for the whole company” when Formula 1 confirmed the entry.
From 2026 to 2028, GM will technically support Cadillac, including aerodynamic, mechanical performance and construction, as it builds to become “a separate American team,” Reuss said.
He knows the challenge ahead. “GM and Cadillac were at the forefront of the games and victory in a series of Elite for more than a century,” he said. “We do not underestimate the level of competition nor the level of commitment should be included in F1.”
With nine months proceeding until the first Cadillac/GM car hitting the piece in presidency tests, the race is turned on, with the countdown clock providing a constant update.
“The last time Dan was opposite,” Lowdon said, referring to Towriss, “talked to everyone at Silverstone and finished his address saying:” As you can see on the wall, we have the x number of days, so let’s break. “
“Everyone knows what the mission is.”
