Cadillac F1 bolsters technical team with key signings

Cadillac F1 has announced a slew of new staffers poached from Red Bull Racing, Aston Martin and McLaren to bolster its technical department.

Craig Skinner from Red Bull Racing will join the team as chief development engineer, Eric Blandin will become Cadillac’s head of aerodynamics, and Tim Lean will become the chief engineer of aerodynamics, modelling and simulation.

Skinner will join Cadillac after more than 20 years with Red Bull Racing, having joined the team as a CFD engineer in 2006, the year after the Austrian drinks brand bought the former Ford-owned Jaguar team. He rose through the ranks to become chief designer in 2022, but quit the team earlier this year on route to Cadillac.

Blandin’s Formula 1 career started with Jaguar in 2022, where he worked as an aerodynamicist until quitting the team in 2009 – by then known as Red Bull Racing – for a one-year stint at Ferrari’s aero department. He then switched into a senior aerodynamicist role at Mercedes in 2011, playing an integral role in the team’s string of title successes.

He defected to Aston Martin to become deputy technical director in 2022, but was shuffled into the aerodynamics director role last year before leaving the team and the sport earlier this season.

Both Skinner and Blandin will report to chief technical officer Nick Chester.

Lean, who will report to Blandin, is a former Airbus aerodynamicist who spent a decade with McLaren’s aero department followed by another six years with Red Bull Racing before switching to Ferrari in 2017, where he was the head of aerodynamic innovation until December 2022.

“These appointments represent a vital step in the technical evolution of the team,” team principal Marcin Budkowski said.

“Bringing together experienced leadership across development, aerodynamics and modelling will help us create a stronger integrated technical organization and improve performance on track. Craig, Eric and Tim bring race and championship-winning experience to Cadillac F1 in areas that are central to our long-term development.”

All three new hires will start work “in the next few months”.