As of New Year’s Day, Pat Symonds has officially begun his role as Executive Engineering Consultant to the Cadillac Formula 1 team.
Symonds departed his role as F1’s Chief Technical Officer after a seven-year stint last May and it was announced shortly afterwards that he’d be boarding the Cadillac F1 project – formerly known as Andretti.
At that time, Cadillac still had no entry, and Symonds was placed on gardening leave until the end of the calendar year.
During Symond’s gardening leave, Michael Andretti ceased control of his eponymous enterprise, with Dan Towriss taking charge, securing a stronger bond with General Motors to rebrand the prospective 11th F1 team as Cadillac.
Terms were agreed between Cadillac and F1 to join the grid in 2026 shortly after November’s Las Vegas Grand Prix.
“I am delighted to announce that today, January 1st, I officially take up my new role at Cadillac as we build our team to contest the 2026 Formula 1 World Championship,” Symonds wrote via LinkedIn on Wednesday.
“It is an exciting challenge as, if the 2026 pre-season testing follows the pattern of 2014 (when we last had a new power unit), we have less than 400 days until the car runs.
“General Motors (GM) have a long motorsport tradition, and I remember as a young boy seeing the Chaparral 2F win the BOAC 500 at Brands Hatch.
“Jim Hall, the man behind Chaparral always acknowledged the contribution GM made to that programme.
“More recently through their Chevrolet and Cadillac brands they have been competitive in sports car racing in addition to being a power unit supplier to IndyCar.
“From Le Mans to Talladega and sports cars to stock cars, they know how to win.
“At the same time, as the pinnacle of motorsports, they fully respect the innovation and excellence required in F1 and what it will take to build the team to replicate the success they have enjoyed in other series.”
Symonds: Cadillac will be ‘the best team to work for’ in F1
The Cadillac F1 project will use Ferrari power units and transmission in 2026 and ’27 as the American marque works hard to produce its own PU in time for the 2028 season.
Symonds acknowledges the “daunting” task ahead for Cadillac but is enthused by the prospect of building a team from the ground up.
“Building a Formula 1 car is a daunting but well documented task,” he said.
“The timelines and gateways are well established, and the team already has plenty of experienced personnel who have been designing and developing the car for some while.
“Alongside them others have been putting into place the necessary processes to ensure we can adhere to the tight timelines and unwavering quality required of Formula 1.
“In parallel to this we are building the infrastructure to support our challenge at our base in Silverstone.
“Starting with the proverbial ‘clean sheet of paper’ presents far more opportunities than it does challenges.
“The team will be built around not just the highest engineering standards but also the highest ESG standards as we work toward making it the best team to work for in Formula 1.”
Symonds brings championship pedigree to Cadillac
Before his stint as F1’s CTO, Symonds had a wide-ranging career working for several F1 teams.
He was a key figure in Benetton’s title-winning days with Michael Schumacher in the 1990s, rising to the rank of Technical Director, a position he held from 1997 through 2009 and the team’s time as the works Renault entry.
That saw more world titles come courtesy of Fernando Alonso and Symonds’ further work in the sport including consultancy work with Virgin Racing and a stint as Williams’ Chief Technical Officer from 2013 through 2016.
Joining Cadillac means that Symonds reunites with several former peers.
Cadillac’s Technical Director Nicholas Chester worked with Symonds at Renault, as did Chief Operating Officer Rob White.
Cadillac Team Principal Graeme Lowdon and Symonds crossed paths at Virgin Racing.
READ MORE – Who should Cadillac charge with leading the American F1 dream?
