Cadillac is racing against time to be ready as the eleventh team on the Formula 1 grid in 2026. The American brand, selected by General Motors to enter Grand Prix racing, is facing a truly complex challenge, so it’s not surprising that, at least in the beginning, it will need support from external facilities. The new factory under construction in Silverstone is still evolving and does not yet have the production capacity required of a constructor.
It’s no coincidence that until 2028, the power unit and transmission will be supplied by Ferrari, as well as the rear suspension, while wind tunnel work is being carried out in Cologne at Toyota’s facility used by clients.
Cadillac has announced that it has already conducted crash tests for a first homologation of the chassis. This is an experimental monocoque developed by Nick Chester, which is well above the minimum weight limits — a factor that will be critical under the upcoming regulations that will transform the paddock.
There had been rumors that the monocoque in question might have been built by Dallara, given that the Varano de’ Melegari-based firm created the LMDh car Cadillac races in both WEC and IMSA. It was natural for some to assume that this collaboration might extend into F1.
“That’s not the case,” explained Andrea Pontremoli, CEO and partner of Dallara, whom Motorsport.com met in the Imola paddock. “We have a current contract with Haas for the design and construction of their chassis, which includes an exclusivity agreement that we respect. F1 has very clear rules on the intellectual property of certain parts of the car, so there has been no contact with Cadillac regarding those components.”
Rumors of a Dallara-Cadillac partnership are not completely unfounded and may have caused some confusion: “We have an excellent relationship with Cadillac, and it’s possible that for other non-restricted parts, Dallara might support their F1 program, which is being developed on a very tight timeline.”
For now, that clears things up — but the question remains: who is producing Cadillac’s F1 chassis?
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