Cadillac: The rookie is the only one with high steering

The project of the first Cadillac, coordinated by technical director Nick Chester, is already a success in itself for the General Motors team, which manages to field its own single-seater in Formula 1. The objective was to be there and therefore the car does not present extreme solutions, but still stands out for some counter-current choices. Everything revolves around the Ferrari power unit, awaiting the debut of the one made in-house in 2029. The steering is at the top. Together with Williams and Alpine, Cadillac is one of the three teams to have focused on a pull-rod front suspension, therefore housing the spring-shock absorber group in the lower part. The preference over the push-rod scheme is purely aerodynamic, a decision that the team, as a rookie, was able to ponder having the greatest number of hours in the wind tunnel and resources for CFD analysis available. The suspension is not multilink, but with overlapping triangles, where the upper one is inclined downwards (1), guiding the flows coming from the wing in the direction of the bottom and the bodywork. It could be observed that this is now a widespread solution on the grid, but this does not mean it is easy to implement from a structural point of view for the chassis, especially for a team taking its first steps. The unique feature of the Cadillac, however, is the steering position. While the competition housed the elements at the bottom, the General Motors team installed them at the top, aligning the arm with the upper triangle. It is not clear how much this is linked to possible difficulties in installing the power steering at the bottom, where the spring-damper assembly of the pull-rod is already located, and how much it is instead a precise design choice. The high installation, in fact, is to the detriment of the height of the center of gravity and load transfers, but it could help to flare the lower part of the frame, as well as to outline, together with the suspension triangle, a cascade of profiles to guide the flows towards the center of the car. The front wing From an aerodynamic point of view, the pull-rod suspension is designed to interact with the front wing. It is no coincidence then that Cadillac has designed a wing with a wavy main profile and raised at the sides (2), exactly like the Alpine, which also has a tie rod suspension. The nose is attached to the first profile, which is why the active aerodynamics exploit the movement of both upper elements. On the outside of the endplate bulkhead we can see the flap also seen on other machines, while more original is the double flow diverter at the bottom (3), which accentuates the outwash effect to push the flows outside the wheels. Moving your gaze a little further back, you can notice the brake cooling ducts (4). Cadillac has also chosen to widen the grips beyond the carbon structures protecting the rims, but designing a narrower and more vertically elongated section compared to the competition. The team has not yet officially communicated the partner company for the braking system, even if in the WEC the General Motors team uses Brembo components. The bodywork For cooling the Ferrari power unit, Cadillac opted for a traditional configuration. The radiators are divided between the central part and the sides, as can be seen from the air-scope at the driver’s head with two external openings (5) and the side vents (6), flattened and with a barely visible P-shaped contour. In this the team differs from Alpine, which, while sharing the pull-rod front suspension and the resulting flow management, has focused on squarer cooling intakes closer to the frame. The bodywork embraces the flat-bellied layout, which was so widespread during the ground effect era and which several teams continue to focus on in 2026. The stabilizing fin at the head of the bonnet is relatively small, confirming the presence of radiators at the head of the power unit. From the side view you can also observe the aerodynamics in the advanced part of the bottom, where for now Cadillac is limited to a simple vertical bulkhead (7), as is the McLaren. The descending bellies convey the flows towards the rear, where there is a push-rod suspension. However, it is not the Ferrari one, since Cadillac only buys the gearboxes from the Cavallino. The team creates the external casing and suspension in-house, while the shock absorbers are developed by Ohlins, part of the Brembo group, which constitutes a further indication of the supply of the braking system. General Motors was certainly courageous in taking on the development of both suspensions, despite already having many other projects to complete to put together the first single-seater. The road is long The first Cadillac represents a point of arrival and at the same time a departure for the American team. The first years can only be an apprenticeship, having to familiarize yourself with all the procedures and management of the car, as well as studying the package to understand how to extract all its potential. It will therefore be difficult to distinguish the limitations of the technical project from the inexperience of the track engineering department, but it will be essential for the team to do so, so that they can learn and grow in every area.