Cadillac F1’s arrival on the grid in 2026 has been anything but quiet, and according to team CEO Dan Towriss, the early verdict is far more positive than the stopwatch alone might suggest.
While results on track still reflect the brutal reality of starting from scratch in F1, Towriss insists the project is already outperforming its own short-term targets.
Built from the ground up with Ferrari power units and a rapidly assembled infrastructure, Cadillac have endured the predictable growing pains of a new entrant – running off the pace and often being lapped – but within the organisation, the focus is firmly on trajectory rather than timing sheets.
‘We’re on track’ – and ahead of schedule
Despite the obvious gap to F1’s upper midfield, Towriss believes the internal benchmarks tell a very different story.
“When you think about short-, medium-, and long-term goals, I think we're on track,” he said in an interview with F1.com.
"I think we're ahead of the short-term goals, but we want to make sure we're on track with the medium-term goals. Certainly the long-term goals are quite ambitious in Formula 1.
“If you think about it, there are so many work streams that are happening at the same time, from a real estate project to building a team to recruiting to building out all the pieces in the organization to tracking parts in a multicontinental effort with races all over the world.
“A lot of moving parts here – and I'm really happy with how it's all coming together.”
He was equally candid about the reality check that comes every race weekend in Formula 1, where progress can evaporate in a matter of corners.
"There are a lot of things we have in future plans, but everything is a process. It doesn't happen overnight, especially when you're starting from scratch. It takes time. We're excited about those plans.
"A lot of build-up and a lot of great feelings about getting to track and exceeding expectations – but that all evaporated once the lights went out in Melbourne. It's so intensively competitive.
"Now it's all about progress, progress, progress," he insisted.
"There is not a moment to sit back and feel good about things. It's all about: How do we get better? How do we grow this team and compete with more and more cars on track on a race weekend?"
‘You don’t know much about Formula 1’
Perhaps the sharpest edge of Towriss’ comments came when addressing outside criticism of Cadillac’s position in the pecking order, with some labelling the team as immediate backmarkers.
"Just seeing the way the team fits in and the respect that we have earned in the paddock with the performance we have brought so far, I think we did exceed a lot of expectations.
"To those who said, 'You're a backmarker,' I'm saying you don't know much about Formula 1. What this team has been able to achieve in such a short space of time is truly incredible.
"As everyone knows, it's a really hard sport. It's the pinnacle of motorsport. What we have been able to build is great.
"Now it's just how do we take that and continue to build and make the learning curve and trajectory of progress as steep as possible," Towriss concluded.
For Cadillac, the message is clear: the stopwatch may not yet be flattering, but in their view, Formula 1 success is not only measured in seconds – but in how fast a team learns to survive, then compete, in the most ruthless arena in motorsport.
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