Cadillac F1 Reportedly Plans Driver Talks at Silverstone, Red Bull Driver Shortlisted

Newsweek

4 days ago

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The Cadillac Formula One team is all set to hold discussions with various F1 drivers this weekend at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, according to a report from RacingNews365. The aim is to shortlist two drivers for the 2026 season, and a report has confirmed that Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda is one of the names on Cadillac's radar.
The second American outfit is all set for its F1 debut in 2026, and while it progresses with its operations in full swing to develop a fast car for the new era of regulations, the team's focus seems to have shifted to hiring drivers.
While Cadillac's preference for a young American talent alongside a seasoned F1 driver is known, the team is likely keeping all options open at this stage. Tsunoda's Red Bull contract expires at the end of 2025, and with no extension in sight, the Japanese driver may also be exploring opportunities coming his way.
Yuki Tsunoda of Japan driving the (22) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB21 makes a pitstop during the F1 Grand Prix of Austria at Red Bull Ring on June 29, 2025 in Spielberg, Austria.
Yuki Tsunoda of Japan driving the (22) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB21 makes a pitstop during the F1 Grand Prix of Austria at Red Bull Ring on June 29, 2025 in Spielberg, Austria.Cadillac's reported links to Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas have made headlines recently. Now, several senior executives of the team will be present at Silverstone for discussions with other drivers, such as Jak Crawford, Jack Doohan, Zhou Guanyu, and Felipe Drugovich. It is also understood that Bottas will have another round of discussions with the sport's eleventh team.
Cadillac has been streamlining its operations to ensure its arrival on the F1 grid in a few months, and team principal Graeme Lowdon revealed that the team has adopted a management structure inspired by NASA's Apollo project.
The flat management model will aid Cadillac in managing operations from multiple locations in the USA and the UK. Newsweek Sports reported his comments:
"It's very similar. OK, we're not putting a man on the moon, but it feels like it sometimes.
"If you look at the task in hand, we've got immovable deadlines. We've got a massive necessity for peer-to-peer interaction.
"So we need engineers talking to engineers. We need an engineer here [in Silverstone] talking to an engineer in Charlotte [North Carolina] and another one in Warren, Michigan, or eventually in Fishers [Indiana, where Cadillac U.S. racing headquarters is being constructed]. And so we've looked to have a very, very flat management structure.
"We've leaned heavily on the management structures that were used for the Apollo project. It's super interesting and I don't know if other teams have used that before.
"You always look around to get inspiration from how other people have tackled things. And I just thought that there was some good learnings from that.
"Is it the equivalent of putting a man on the moon? I don't know about that. But what strikes me is it's quite a difficult task."
He added:
"So instead, it's a kind of a different structure where it's mission control instead of command and control. So you have this really flat structure. Engineers are able to talk directly to each other. And the thing that's heavily imparted on them is the mission itself. Everyone knows what the mission is. They know what needs to be done.
"So far it works. You know, the proof of the pudding is going to be in whether the car's quick."