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Will Buxton revealed that he’s had conversations with insiders who were told just how much the Cadillac staff were being overworked.
The 2026 F1 season will mark the debut of Cadillac as the newest team in the paddock. The American luxury vehicle brand is venturing into motorsport in a massive way.
With Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas both enlisted as drivers for the team, Cadillac are looking to make a big impression right out of the gate.
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There are some concerns about Perez, who is returning to F1 after a year on the sidelines following a tumultuous exit from Red Bull.
However, if Will Buxton is to be believed, Cadillac’s problems run far deeper than just their driver selections this season.
READ MORE: Fans love Cadillac’s ‘awesome’ debut livery and have compared it to another ‘classy’ F1 car design
Cadillac staff reportedly ‘exhausted’ ahead of new season
While speaking on the Up To Speed podcast, Will Buxton laid out the institutional challenges Cadillac are facing in their debut season.
As he pointed to the contrast in work culture, Buxton shared that he heard rumblings about the staff and engineers being exhausted well before the season is set to start.
“You have two distinct issues in how Cadillac, as an American team, will fare. One is the American work culture, which is that ‘there is no time off. You keep working yourself into the ground…’”
“You’ve also got the F1 mentality of ‘You don’t like it? Go do something else…’ If you’re based in the UK, you’re working all through the day. Then you’ve got to work through most of the night because America is still awake up to that point.”
“You’re getting three hours of sleep, and the season hasn’t even started. I have heard from people I know who have moved over to this great new enterprise that the team is exhausted. They’re done. And the season hasn’t even started yet.”
If these reports are true, then this could be a bad omen for Cadillac heading into 2026, as an exhausted team is far more likely to make mistakes in crucial moments during the season.
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Cadillac must ensure overworked staff don’t make many mistakes
With just days remaining before the Australian Grand Prix, Cadillac find themselves in a tough position with their reportedly exhausted staff.
On top of that, Cadillac’s livery could be banned by the FIA for non-compliance, which would force them to make changes on very short notice.
For a team making its F1 debut, these circumstances are far from ideal. But Cadillac must be careful not to let this early adversity derail the rest of their season.
It is crucial that Cadillac address whatever concerns they need to ahead of the start of the season. If not, they could find themselves at the bottom of the table in their first dance.
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