Cadillac has signed a former key member of Audi’s Formula 1 engine department ahead of both its debut seasons next year, according to reports in Germany.
Motorsport Magazin has reported that Adam Baker, who was ousted by the German marque in May, has been taken on by the Silverstone-based American squad.
Baker was a longstanding member of Audi’s ambitious team to make it to F1, having joined back in 2021.
But amid COO Mattia Binotto’s plans for the backroom staff taking shape, Baker was replaced by Christian Foyer.
Baker’s remit with Cadillac is said to be overseeing its in-house engine department, which will be located in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The team is, for the time being, running with Ferrari power as its takes its nascent steps into F1.
With F1 potentially looking at freeing itself from the FIA’s radical new rulebook – effective from next year until 2030 – early, with a view to reintroducing V8 power, Cadillac may have to speed up or rethink its process.
That is, especially if it chooses to continue beyond into that potential era, which may prove unappealing to many OEMs, including Audi, which chose to make a push to enter F1 on the proviso of further electrification.
Baker’s services will be useful, as he boasts a number of years’ worth of experience in F1, which began with Cosworth over 20 years ago.
Audi was not the first team in which he was involved that bought out Sauber, as he was at BMW during and after its takeover of the Swiss squad in 2006.
Baker also helped oversee its progress in other series, including Formula E and WEC, before joining the FIA as a safety director in 2018, a role he held for three years.
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