The date is 16 January 2026, the venue is Silverstone, sitting gloomy and grey in the middle of winter, and the event is a “shakedown” filming day, six weeks out from the new season. For 10 Formula 1 teams, such routine occasions transpire without any ballyhoo. Not, however, for the sport’s soon-to-be 11th outfit – and the first new team in 10 years.
“I’m not an emotional person,” says Cadillac’s executive engineering consultant, Pat Symonds. “But it was a very emotional moment. What very few people outside of F1 realise is the size, complexity and infrastructure around the cars – they’re all incredibly complex.
