Former Penske IndyCar star Simon Pagenaud is among three drivers signed by Cadillac to work on its Formula 1 simulator programme.
Pagenaud is sharing the Cadillac F1 sim role with former Haas reserve and two-time grand prix starter Pietro Fittipaldi as well as Charlie Eastwood, who represents General Motors as a Corvette factory GT driver for sister brand Chevrolet.
Pagenaud suffered a severe concussion in a harrowing IndyCar crash at Mid-Ohio in 2023 and hasn’t raced since. The 41-year-old Frenchman has since acted as a driver coach for former Penske team-mate Scott McLaughlin.
Having moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, to be close to Penske’s headquarters during his stint with the IndyCar powerhouse, which yielded both an IndyCar championship and Indy 500 win, Pagenaud was tapped by GM to conduct IndyCar sim testing at its Charlotte simulator. In recent months, Pagenaud also started supporting the nascent F1 squad with drive-in-the-loop simulator work.
“Optimising the technical side of a car and managing relationships with the people in the factory has been my passion since I started racing,” Pagenaud explained.
“I really enjoy talking with engineers, developing the simulator, and making it as realistic as possible. This work gives me the feeling of being useful and contributing my expertise, something I had been missing a little since my accident.
Simon Pagenaud, Cadillac F1 Team
Photo by: Antoan Phu / Cadillac F1 Team
“My role and my goal are to make the simulator as close to reality as possible and to lay the foundations of the car. I want to help Cadillac project itself towards reality in the most accurate way possible.”
Cadillac F1 team principal Graeme Lowdon said: “Our work in the simulator in Charlotte is extremely important for building the team.
“It is crucial in many respects: consolidating our baseline performance and aerodynamic setups, allowing us to be race-ready during a grand prix weekend, validating systems and protocols, but also establishing clear and efficient communication channels between our bases in the United States, the United Kingdom and, ultimately, trackside. Simon has brought experience and energy to this process, and he has been a tremendous help.”
Cadillac also enlisted 30-year-old Northern Ireland born Eastwood, who is employed by GM as a Corvette factory GT3 driver, and Brazil’s Fittipaldi.
Fittipaldi was previously a reserve driver at Haas, contesting two grands prix for the squad at the end of the 2020 season in the wake of Romain Grosjean’s fiery Bahrain accident.
“I’m very proud to finally share that I’ve joined Cadillac F1,” 29-year-old Fittipaldi wrote on social media. “Over past few months, we’ve been working together on the development of the team’s 2026 F1 car through sim testing and full GP simulations. It’s a privilege to be part of a brand as iconic as Cadillac.”
Cadillac will make its F1 debut in 2026 with series returnees and multiple race winners Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez as its driver line-up, while IndyCar ace Colton Herta joined the roster as a test driver.
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