Cadillac F1: Who are the key personnel at America’s latest Formula 1 team?

With the official confirmation that Cadillac F1 have been awarded a slot as an 11th team in Formula 1 for the 2026 season has come a deeper dive into the make-up of the team, from its CEO down to its prospective drivers.

Today, we’re going to run through the key personnel and organizations that make up the Cadillac F1 program.

Cadillac F1 key personnel

TWG Motorsports: Cadillac F1’s ownership group

To kick things off, we’re going to start at the very top: The ownership group that has taken charge of this Cadillac F1 entry. And at the top of that pyramid is a company called TWG Motorsports.

TWG Motorsports is the racing arm of TWG Global, a holding company and investment vehicle for Mark Walter, the co-founder and CEO of Guggenheim Capital. TWG Global has key investments in various other sporting entities, such as the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chelsea F.C., and the Professional Women’s Hockey League.

The motorsport division was created to absorb the increasing motorsport investments made by TWG Global, which now include the Cadillac F1 team, Andretti Global’s IndyCar and Formula E endeavors, NASCAR’s Spire Motorsports team, IMSA’s Wayne Taylor Racing, and the Walkinshaw Andretti United Supercars team.

Dan Towriss: CEO of TWG Motorsports, Cadillac F1

The CEO of TWG Motorsports is Dan Towriss. Towriss’ involvement in motorsport is fairly recent, and was brought about when aspiring IndyCar driver Zach Veach was advised by his pastor to contact Towriss.

Towriss is also the CEO of Group 1001, a financial services company in Zionsville, Indiana. Gainbridge, a financial savings platform, is one of Group 1001’s subsidiary brands.

What started as a single-event sponsorship soon evolved, to the extent that Towriss bought into the Andretti Autosport racing team. It was that investment that allowed Andretti to begin building new race shops and engineering facilities, and to make the initial proposal for Andretti to join Formula 1.

Bad blood between team owner Michael Andretti and Formula One Management ultimately led to the former stepping down, and the latter approving the entry of Cadillac F1’s team.

We have the full story of Towriss’ entry into motorsport.

GM Performance Power Units LLC: Cadillac F1’s PU builder

When Cadillac enters F1 in 2026, it will do so with Ferrari power units, but the ultimate goal is that the General Motors subbrand will be to manufacture its own power units.

The company that will do so, GM Performance Power Units LLC, was announced in early January of 2025. It will be responsible for transforming Cadillac from a Ferrari customer team into a full-works team that utilizes its own Cadillac-built power units.

Russ O’Blenes: CEO of GM PPU

Heading up the GM PPU program will be a man named Russ O’Blenes, who has spent over three decades developing high-performance racing powertrains for General Motors.

O’Blenes has helmed countless successful projects on both the racing and the performance automotive side of things — including Cadillac’s recent hybrid hypercar program in endurance racing.

We have more information on Russ O’Blenes and GM PPU available here on PlanetF1.com.

More on Cadillac F1:

👉 Cadillac F1: Everything you need to know about the new 11th team

👉 Four reasons why GM’s huge F1 arrival makes so much sense

Graeme Lowdon: Cadillac F1 team principal

Now we’re going to get into the nitty-gritty details of the people who will be taking on the daily operations of the Cadillac Formula 1 team, beginning with its team principal Graeme Lowdon.

Lowdon has been actively involved in motorsport since the mid-1990s, and with his ties to Virgin Group, he assisted Richard Branson in the founding of the Virgin Racing F1 team that went on to become Marussia, then Manor.

Lowdon and Manor parted ways after the F1 team folded and became a stint in the World Endurance Championship, and as Andretti began to formulate its F1 plans, Lowdon was brought on as an advisor.

Just a few weeks after Cadillac F1 was provisionally accepted to the F1 2026 grid, the team announced that Lowdon would assume the role of team principal.

Nick Chester: Technical director

Taking on the role of Cadillac F1 technical director is Nick Chester, who has had a long history in Formula 1 beginning in the mid-1990s.

Chester started at Simtek as a vehicle simulation researcher before moving to the Arrows Formula 1 team in 1995. His role evolved from vehicle simulation engineer to suspension designer to race engineer.

After that, Chester headed to Benetton, Lotus, and Renault, though in 2020 he made a move to Formula E, serving as technical director first for Mercedes-Benz and later for McLaren.

He was also one of the first Andretti F1 hires, and has remained with the burgeoning team ever since.

Rob White: Chief operations officer

Rob White got his start in motorsport as a development engineer for Cosworth Racing’s IndyCar program before moving to its F1 operations in 1997. When Cosworth was sold to Kevin Kalkhoven and left F1, White moved to Renault F1 to serve as engine technical director.

He remained with the Enstone outfit until he was signed to Cadillac as chief operations officer in late 2024. During his time with Renault, he progressively moved up the ranks from engineer to take on a greater leadership role, making his COO appointment a smart fit.

John McQuilliam: Chief designer

British designer John McQuilliam got his start in Formula 1 in 1986 working for Williams, followed by Arrows and then Jordan as a composite engineer.

McQuilliam remained with Jordan through its next few sales before stepping back from F1 and rejoining in 2015 with Manor Marussia, then to Prodrive.

In 2024, he joined Andretti as its chief designer as it prepared its Formula 1 entry and has remained in that role since.

Jon Tomlinson: Head of aerodynamics

Jon Tomlinson’s first job in the motorsport world came with Newman-Haas Racing’s IndyCar project, where he improved the team’s aerodynamic development. He moved to Swift Engineering in 1996, where he helped prepare race-winning Indy cars, before moving to F1.

His first role was with Jordan as a senior aerodynamicist, then was hired by Renault F1 and, later, Williams.

Tomlinson joined the Andretti Global campaign in late 2022 to serve as its head of aerodynamics. He has remained through the Cadillac F1 transition.

Pat Symonds: Executive engineering consultant

Pat Symonds has been involved in Formula 1 for decades, having joined Toleman in the early 1980s and remaining with the operation through its time as Benetton and then into Formula 1. Symonds took on many roles during that time, from heading the research and development department to serving as a race engineer.

In 2009, Nelson Piquet Jr. stated that Symonds had asked him to crash his Renault at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix in order to secure a win for Fernando Alonso, resulting in Symonds’ dismissal from the team. He returned to F1 in 2011 as a consultant for Virgin racing before moving to Williams and, most recently, holding the role of Formula 1 Chief Technical Officer.

His arrival at Cadillac in May 2024 has been seen as a strong signing on the team’s part.

Naoki Tokunaga: Senior strategic advisor

Hailing from Tokyo, Japan, Naoki Tokunaga boasts an impressive career in motorsport. He first got his start as a motorsport engineer for Nissan before moving to join Benetton’s F1 team as a vehicle dynamics engineer and later its head of systems control.

When F1 introduced KERS, Tokunaga was a key player in the system’s development, and he took on the role of technical director at Renault Sport F1 up through 2022.

In April of 2024, Tokunaga was hired as a senior strategic advisor by the Cadillac F1 program.

Mario Andretti: Advisor and director

Though the Andretti family has largely been removed from the daily runnings of the Cadillac F1 team, 1978 F1 World Champion Mario Andretti has revealed that he’ll be taking on a non-voting role as advisor on the outfit’s board of directors.

Andretti has been adamant that he has no interest in running the team or making the big business decisions. Rather, he’ll be on hand to advise on the driver selection and training process.

Cadillac F1 drivers: To be determined

The biggest question mark hanging over the incoming Cadillac F1 entry involves its driver line-up. Which two drivers will serve to bring this team into the sport of Formula 1?

Right now, the driver lineup is still undecided. However, we do know that the outfit is seeking drivers who conform to one of two criteria: They are American, and/or they have ample Formula 1 experience.

Andretti Global driver Colton Herta has frequently been tied to Cadillac F1, though his chances at the team will be determined by his ability to secure a super license.

Read next: Cadillac F1: Five drivers we’d love to see join the new American team