Cups of gold and chariots of fire are all well and good in hymns and arty movies, not so useful in the day-to-day cut and thrust of the outer ring road, or the newly installed bypass, or newly minted FIA rules for a brave new world.
Yet here we are with Cadillac all a-tingle over bringing their lovingly handcrafted chariot into the Circus Maximus that is modern F1 entertainment... it being a sport no more. Coins of gold have already been promised for the out-stretched hands of the other team owners', so no dissent from those in the cheap seats.
But what is the chariot of fire which General Motors (GM), and their "world famous only in America" Cadillac brand, bringing to the circus of modern F1 entertainment?
Let's meander back through history and see if we can spot any themes other than profit grab.
Along with Ford and Standard Oil, GM was a huge investor and admirer of Hitler's Germany. The owning families loved the idea of genetically superior white guys with all the cash running the place. So the Du Pont family (GM backers), Ford (ah, well a Ford backer) and Rockefeller (major owner of Standard Oil) all invested heavily in Germany throughout the 1930s... and continued building trucks and cars there in the 1940s. When the Allies finally bombed the GM factories, GM were subsequently paid $30 million in compensation (around half a billion today) for the lost plant and equipment. Talk about chasing a profit... the tactics, and eventual breakup of Standard Oil represent a grimy history lesson for another day.
So GM has a proven track record of chasing profits above all else, even to the point of using forced labour to build vehicles for profit for the enemy. I'm sure they and Mercedes could trade exploited labour stories. I'm also confident that no interviewer put forward by Liberty Media is about to ask either of them about that episode in their histories.
Politics aside what about on-track action? For GM it was all about the old adage of "Race on Sunday, sell on Monday". They have a history in NASCAR, and a patch history in more or less every other category.
They raced Le Mans in 1950, finishing tenth and eleventh overall, racing two series 61 Cadillacs. The mildly modified number 3 Petite Pataud came home one place ahead of their number 2 car. A bizarre 'aerodynamic' prototype nicknamed Le Monstre by the French.
Both had regular Cadillac chassis, and 90 degree V8 engines of 331 cubic inches (5.4L) producing around 160bhp at 3,800rpm. Le Monstre weighed around 3,705 pounds (1,681Kg) and due to the streamlined design had a top speed of 130 mph (208kph), being about 13 mph faster than the regular car. Frick-Tappett Motors prepared the cars, with mild engine tuning, dual carburettors (per bank I believe), cooling ducts for the brakes and additional fuel storage.
Pitpass readers will have no problem smiling when it is revealed that the faster, fancier car finished behind the regular version due to flying off track into a sand back, requiring the driver to dig it out with his bare hands. Imagine! An American car which does not handle!
As a result of the warm reception Cadillac received at the race they promptly built a "Le Mans" prototype coupe. Revealed at the General Motors Motorama of 1953, it was a curious coupe. Striking rather than beautiful. Cadillac built four, and never released a version to the public.
Such was the magnet of Le Mans, Cadillac only waited 50 years until 2000 to return with a "Northstar" LMP class entry. The car being named after the 4.0L Northstar twin-turbo powering it.
The 2000 race saw Audi finish 1 (368 laps), 2 and 3, a remarkable podium sweep. A Chrysler Viper GTS finished 7th (333 laps), winning the class. A Chevrolet Corvette C5-R came 10th overall. A Porsche 911 GT came in at 14th overall, also in the GTS class. Finally in 19th the first Northstar entered by DAMS (non-factory team) completed 300 laps, two laps down on the 911 GT3-R in 18th from the GTS class.
As for the factory teams! In a modest 21st (292 laps), and 22nd (291 laps), of the 27 cars which finished. 292 laps is 79% of the laps completed by the winning Audi. Can you imagine Haas finishing 13 laps behind Red Bull? 13 laps being 21% of 60, a typical F1 race distance.
2004 to 2007 saw Cadillac enter American sports car racing, gaining a dozen wins. Finally Cadillac saw the commencement of serious results. The CTS-V delivering the 2005 and 2007 Manufacturer Championship, and the 2005 Driver Champions in the (deep breath) Sports Car Club of America World Challenge GT Championship. CTS-VR then delivered 2012, 2013, and 2014 Manufacturer and Driver Champions in the Pirelli World Challenge GT Class.
Next up the ATS-VR delivered the 2015 Driver Champions in the same class, plus the 2017 Driver Champions in the SprintX GT Class.
Next the DPI-VR won the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020, plus a similar record in both the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup and the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship.
2023 Saw the V-Series.R win the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar GTP Manufacturer champion, and the Michelin GTP Manufacturer's gong. They also managed third place overall at the 2023 24 hour of Le Mans. This being the best ever result for Cadillac at Le Mans.
Does Cadillac have a racing history? Yes. Have they dipped in and out of series faster than either Ford or Honda? Yes. Do they have an esteemed open-wheeler history and tradition of light weight, fine handling cars of huge reliability? No.
The GT classes they've won are just that touch easier than the LMP, or any other top-flight prototype racer at Le Mans. Porsche have won Le Mans 19 times, and in second place is Audi on a modest 13, with Ferrari third on 11, but with a fifty year break. Yet Porsche had a horrid time in F1, and we are yet to see what Audi can achieve. Ferrari know how to race F1 yet they are without a championship since Kimi Raikkonen in 2007. That's 18 years ago!
Sensibly Cadillac is using Ferrari engines for its initial season. Not a bad choice. No doubt other subsystems, gearbox, brakes for example, will be included in the deal. Given this is the setup Haas use however I'd not be holding my breath for podiums in their first season!
Building their own engine will be harder than they imagine. Having staff in the USA, UK and Italy will be a nightmare for them. Having spent decades working with Americans, the minor cultural and thinking differences are magnified by distance, and need frequent face-to-face course corrections. Three different tribes in three different countries that can all point fingers at one another! If the booing of V. Max the other evening upset the FIA just wait until they see the mud-slinging that will commence at Cadillac when results do not arrive!
The Cadillac F1 team leadership will soon feel they are riding a chariot of fire, but one which is burning their pants off, and charring their careers, not lifting them to Heaven. I cannot wait to watch!
Max Noble
Learn more about Max and check out his previous features, here
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