Cadillac to play safe with deadlines for first F1 car build

LONDON : Cadillac will be playing it safe with design deadlines as the General Motors-backed team prepares for a 2026 Formula One debut, according to executive engineering consultant Pat Symonds.

The 11th outfit on the starting grid had their entry formally confirmed last month but have been working for some time on the car.

They still face a race to be ready in time for pre-season testing, which next year is likely to start in Barcelona in late January with two further sessions expected in Bahrain in February.

Cadillac have brought in experience from other teams, Symonds involved in building some 40 cars in decades in the sport including winners with Benetton and Renault, and are well aware of potential pitfalls.

"We have taken what I think is a very conservative approach to producing that car, and I think that's absolutely the right thing to do," Symonds, F1's former chief technical officer, told Reuters when asked about timelines.

"When you have everything established you try and push everything to the last minute so you get maximum performance from the car. I don't think that's the right thing to do in our situation.

"We all saw what happened with Williams a few years ago, and we cannot let that sort of thing happen. We have to be up and running, and we have to be running efficiently at our first test in Barcelona next year.

"So we've taken quite a conservative approach to what I would say is a well-known problem."

Williams, once-dominant former champions now fighting back from an extended period among the backmarkers, missed the first two and a half days of testing in 2019 following delays in the production of parts.

New teams have also been pushed to the limit in getting two cars ready in time.

Symonds said the team had to