The fact that Red Bull senior figures are considering a contract with Cadillac says it all

GPblog was able to report exclusively last weekend that Cadillac is trying to add Craig Skinner to the team. The Brit left Red Bull Racing suddenly earlier this year (whether voluntarily or not), after serving for many years as the Austrian team’s chief designer. Skinner was among those responsible for the cars with which Max Verstappen became world champion in 2022, 2023, and 2024.

It comes as little surprise that Skinner is attracting considerable interest from other teams, now that the end of his gardening leave is in sight. This website heard that Alpine had interest in the gifted designer. Yet it is not the French team, but newcomer Cadillac that currently appears best positioned to bring him on board.

At first glance, that may seem remarkable, given the performance gap the two teams are currently showing. Look a little deeper, however, and you’ll see that hiring Skinner fits perfectly into Cadillac’s plan: after a startup phase - during which immediately available staff were brought in - this period is being used to deliberately poach people from top teams. Cadillac doesn’t want to be a midfield outfit; it wants to fight for wins and titles.

A number of transfers are expected in the near future, GPblog has learned. Poaching personnel isn’t happening solely with attractive salary offers, but certainly also with a compelling vision of the future. Since last week, Cadillac has had access to a state-of-the-art F1 factory, creating the conditions to take huge steps forward quickly. With the right people in the right places, that’s entirely possible - especially with someone like Craig Skinner.

There is still a real chance that Skinner won’t be the only one with a Red Bull pedigree to join the American outfit soon. The Austrians keep stressing that Paul Monaghan has not resigned his contract with the team. But GPblog can confirm that the Chief Engineer is still in talks (at least) with Cadillac about a potential move. Should Monaghan ultimately make the switch and take a senior role within Cadillac, he won’t be available immediately. The Brit would first have to sit out his gardening leave - possibly as long as twelve months.

Cadillac is happy to wait, because the team realizes that the leap to the absolute top in Formula 1 won’t be made overnight. The mere fact that people like Monaghan and Skinner are considering employment with the young team is the ultimate sign that Cadillac already enjoys a strong reputation in the F1 paddock. The team proving to be an attractive destination will only accelerate the march to the front of the grid.

That could trigger a snowball effect, as a successful team will be an even more attractive employer than Cadillac already appears to be.