Cadillac has promoted Charles Leclerc’s former race engineer to a major role in its new Formula 1 team after a brief spell working in its endurance squads.
Xavier Marcos Padros, who left Ferrari midway through 2024, will become the American outfit’s Chief Race Engineer for its debut season in the sport.
The Spaniard effectively has five Grand Prix wins under his belt, having helped Leclerc to take that number during the pair’s collaboration at the Scuderia.
Marcos Padros spent his early years at Spanish backmarkers HRT before moving on to Williams, where he was performance engineer for veteran Felipe Massa.
After being replaced by Bryan Bozzi in his role working for Leclerc after the 2024 Miami Grand Prix, Marcos Padros was shuffled into additional roles at Ferrari.
But it transpired that in January of this year, he had joined Cadillac, becoming Technical Director of its V-Series.R programme, which spread across its WEC and IMSA teams.
It is believed that Marcos Padros was present at its first TPC test in Imola last month, in which Sergio Perez drove a blacked-out Ferrari SF-23 as part of its preparations for 2026.
Perez will be supported by Carlo Pasetti as his race engineer, who moves across from Aston Martin, in the Mexican’s first season back in F1 after a year-long hiatus.
Fellow veteran and team-mate Valtteri Bottas, who has also spent 2025 out of the game – albeit as reserve driver for Mercedes – will be working alongside John Howard, a former Alpine engineer.
The Silverstone-based team is also boasting a strong background team of supporting drivers, including former IndyCar winner Simon Pagenaud in a development and simulator position.
A newer era of IndyCar winner, Colton Herta, has also been signed as a reserve driver, the American also taking on a seat in Formula 2 in order to gain enough Super Licence points for a future F1 race seat.
READ MORE – Cadillac passes crucial milestone ahead of team’s 2026 F1 debut
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