F1 News: Andretti Cadillac Confirms Huge Recruits From Red Bull And Mercedes

The plan is to test a full-scale F1 chassis model by mid-2024.

Andretti Cadillac is aggressively pursuing entry into the Formula 1 grid, bolstering its efforts by recruiting talent from leading F1 teams like Red Bull, Mercedes, Ferrari, and McLaren. Additionally, the team is manufacturing components and plans to conduct testing of a full-scale 2024 model in Toyota’s Cologne wind tunnel later this year.

After receiving approval from the FIA last year to be included as Formula 1's eleventh F1 team, Andretti Cadillac awaits further approval from FOM for entry into the sport. Despite the pending approval, the team is actively engaged in development efforts, aiming to secure a spot on the grid by 2025.

Technical director Nick Chester disclosed that among the 120-strong workforce, 50 individuals were mobilized from General Motors. The team's key positions are held by seasoned professionals, including former Manor and Williams employee John McQuilliam, serving as the chief designer, and ex-Renault team member Jon Tomlinson, who assumes the role of head of aerodynamics.

Chester added that he was glad to witness incoming talent from the top teams who wanted to get involved in the challenge of elevating a new team to winning standards. He told The Athletic:

“It’s a team that wants to do it properly and wants to win.

“You don’t want to be anywhere that doesn’t have that ethos. As I started talking before I joined, the resource behind it, the effort that was going to go behind it to make it win, just made it very, very attractive.

“I was pleasantly surprised, in a way, how easy it was to draw people to the project. There’s a real draw of a new team, the Andretti name. A blank sheet tends to have a very proactive culture.

“We’ve had people joining from Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren. They all wanted a new challenge. It’s that real potential to shape departments, which is very attractive.”

Chester emphasized that the rapid pace of developing a new team and a new car would not have been possible without the invaluable support from General Motors. He said:

“We wouldn’t have got half of what we’ve got done now without GM’s involvement.

“It’s not an arrangement where you throw things backwards and forwards, it’s much more like one team. It’s getting really nicely integrated.”

Andretti Press Image

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