Pat Symonds, unfortunately known for his involvement in the affair of the intentional accident of Nelson Piquet junior which occurred in 2008 in order to win Fernando Alonso (stratagem developed with his boss, Flavio Briatore), will make his return to the new team of F1 Cadillac.
Symonds is a very talented, experienced and highly respected engineer. Once he obtained his engineering degree, Symonds worked in Formula 1, first being the track engineer for the young Ayrton Senna at Toleman in 1984. He was then the engineer for Michael Schumacher at Benetton (photo below). -above) before being kicked out of F1 for his involvement in the accident caused by Nelson Piquet junior while he was working as technical director of the Renault team.
After agreeing an out-of-court deal, Symonds returned to F1 with the Virgin and then Williams teams. Between March 2017 and May 2024, Symonds served as Formula 1's Chief Technical Officer.
On January 1, Symonds announced that he was officially taking up the position of executive engineering consultant for the Cadillac Formula Racing F1 team, a team which will participate in the F1 World Championship from 2026.
“It's an exciting challenge because, if the 2026 pre-season tests take place around the same dates as in 2014 (when the turbo hybrid engine was imposed in F1), we have less than 400 days before the car don’t roll” writes Symonds in a message published on the X platform (Twitter).
“General Motors (GM) has a long tradition in motorsport. I remember when I was very young seeing the Chaparral 2F win the BOAC 500 at Brands Hatch. Jim Hall, the man behind the Chaparral, always recognized GM's contribution to the program. More recently, through its Chevrolet and Cadillac brands, GM has been competitive in sports car racing, in addition to being a powertrain supplier to the IndyCar series. From Le Mans to Talladega, from sports cars to stock cars, the people at GM know how to win. At the same time, as the pinnacle of motorsport, they fully respect the innovation and excellence required in Formula 1 and what it will take to build the team that can replicate the success they have enjoyed in other series.
“While awaiting the development of the all-new Cadillac engine, our first F1 single-seater will use a Ferrari engine and transmission. Building an F1 car is a mammoth, but well-documented, task. The timelines and milestones are well established and the team already has a large number of experienced people who have been designing and developing the car for some time. Alongside them, others have put in place the necessary processes to ensure we can meet the tight deadlines and impeccable quality demanded by F1.
“At the same time, we are putting in place the necessary infrastructure to support the team at our Silverstone base. Starting from scratch, as the saying goes, offers many more opportunities than challenges. The team will be built not only around the highest engineering standards, but also the highest ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance) standards, and we will strive to make it the best team to work for in F1.
