Cadillac will join the Formula 1 grid as a competitor for the first time next year, the championship has confirmed.
The F1 grid will grow to 22 cars for the first time since the 2016 season to accommodate the arrival of the General Motors brand.FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem called the confirmation of Cadillac’s entry “a transformative moment” for Formula 1.
“I am proud to lead the Federation in this progressive step for the championship,” he said. “The FIA Formula One Championship’s expansion to an 11th team in 2026 is a milestone.”
Cadillac’s entry will coincide with the introduction of new power unit and chassis regulations to F1 for the first time since 2014.
“GM/Cadillac brings fresh energy, aligning with the new FIA 2026 regulations and ushering in an exciting era for the sport,” Ben Sulayem continued. “GM/Cadillac’s presence in the paddock will inspire future competitors and fans. Their entry strengthens our mission to push motorsport’s boundaries at the highest level.”
The confirmation of Cadillac’s arrival comes over two years after the FIA invited applicants to join the world championship. In October 2023 it selected the entry from Andretti Global to join the grid.
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Cadillac announced in November 2023 it would join Andretti as a power unit supplier in 2028. But despite the backing of the American carmaking giant, Formula One Management blocked Andretti’s entry in January last year.
Following months of further lobbying by Cadillac and the FIA, FOM relented. In November last year it announced the team, now rebranded as Cadillac and operated by TWG Motorsports, had an agreement in principle to join the grid.
GM president Mark Reuss said the company was “thrilled the Cadillac Formula 1 Team is official.”
“We’re incredibly grateful for the support from the FIA and Formula 1 leadership for us and for our partners at TWG.
“The excitement only grows as we get closer to showcasing GM’s engineering expertise on the prestigious global stage of F1.”
Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali thanked the new entrant “for their constructive engagement over many months” and said the championship “looks forward to welcoming the team on the grid from 2026 for what will be another exciting year for Formula 1.”
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paulsf1fix
7th March 2025, 16:24
This is great news! it gives me vibes of when Stewart entered F1 (sort of)
They just need to sign two good steady Eddie’s for their debut season.
Also F1 needs more teams too.
sam
7th March 2025, 16:26
Welcome aboard!
Philip Roden
7th March 2025, 17:04
Two more teams please
MoogleSlam
7th March 2025, 21:41
Yes!
FanatikosF1 (@fanatikosf1)
7th March 2025, 17:11
So what PU will they use when they enter next year and when will they go full works team, producing their own?
Phil Norman (@phil-f1-21)
7th March 2025, 17:28
I have a feeling they are using Ferrari engines for 2026?
El Pollo Loco
7th March 2025, 18:06
I hear they’re getting the 2015 Honda engine. Rev limited for the extra cylinders and litres (you’d probably want to do that either way). Flav’s firm Mechachrome will be doing the engine prep.
SteveR (@stever)
7th March 2025, 19:54
Um, the 2026 engines are still V-6 and still 1.6 litre. And they’re using Ferrari engines….. Strange comment.
anon
7th March 2025, 21:07
@stever it’s a misguided attempt at a joke by that poster that fails by not being funny.
El Pollo Loco
8th March 2025, 2:43
So misguided of me. What was I ever thinking and how shall I ever go on?! This is a place for serious comments only!
SteveR (@stever)
8th March 2025, 2:58
So, Crazy Chicken, what’s your point? Stupid posts? You’ve achieved your goal.
El Pollo Loco
8th March 2025, 3:58
Oh, sorry, I didn’t know being irreverent was banned here. Pretty sure I’ve seen lots of silly and sarcastic posts. If it makes you happy, I can post some cherished memories of things Lewis did. Would that make you happy?
SteveR (@stever)
8th March 2025, 13:55
You’re not being irreverent, you’re being irrelevant.
Mr A
8th March 2025, 14:20
Did you skip sarcasm school?
El Pollo Loco
8th March 2025, 20:09
I guess that’s me told.
BTW, did you skip sarcasm school, Steve? Truancy is a growing issue. We need to be a better model for the youth. I’m disappointed in you.
anon
10th March 2025, 8:23
@stever it seems to be that poster is from the school of thought that, if they keep posting, they might eventually happen to come up with something vaguely amusing by accident.
Palindnilap (@palindnilap)
8th March 2025, 13:13
I, for one, found it funny !
El Pollo Loco
8th March 2025, 20:07
@palindnilap
Don’t worry, if someone else said it they would not have an issue. The Steve(s just hold a grudge against me because, despite being a fan of Lewis, I’m not ENOUGH of a fan for them. I don’t toe the line that he is perfect in all ways. I wish that were hyperbole, but it’s really not. Normally, they’d be thrilled with a crack at Flav’s expense.
SteveP
8th March 2025, 22:05
The only thing bothering me right now is I seem to run out of peanuts (not a fan of popcorn)
Do carry on, it’s mildly amusing, and I do have beer and a comfy seat.
El Pollo Loco
8th March 2025, 23:29
Sad. I thought you’d have the class to rectify your mistake and return to sarcasm school.
pastaman
7th March 2025, 18:20
Initial agreement was to use Ferrari PU
El Pollo Loco
7th March 2025, 19:04
And Cadillac revised their initial estimate for the introduction of their own PU from 2028 all the way to 2029 or 2030. At which point the PU might be 1-2 years from retirement. Or not, we’ll see. But I wouldn’t want to begin spending on a PU until I was sure its shelf life was more than a season or two. If they’re smart, they’ll just wait about 6-18 months for Audi to pull the plug on their F1 program and just buy their PU (design, tooling, spares, etc.) and rebadge them.
grat
8th March 2025, 2:50
Got a source for that? Everything I’ve seen says that Cadillac intends to have their engine ready for 2028.
El Pollo Loco
8th March 2025, 4:04
A quick Google will show you the team repeatedly using the language “full works team by 2030” in January and both RF and TR have had articles about Cadillac’s estimates of when their own PU might be ready revised backward.
SteveP
8th March 2025, 8:47
I think the normal business phrase is “there has been some slippage in the project”
I think most people would say that the earlier estimates were unrealistic*, and the earliest** were pretty much fantasy. I think the current GM statements equate to “somewhere in the 2028-2030 period” – so you may both be ‘right’
*GM may not have realised the level of engineering, or not talked to their engineers before talking to the press. Management boys do like to throw around unrealistic timelines.
**Andretti was not so much economical with the truth, more like parsimonious.
Greg
7th March 2025, 21:54
Ferrari
MichaelN
7th March 2025, 17:14
Given the special dispensations given to Sauber for being in Switzerland, and all the additional costs that comes with, one wonders how the FIA budget cap commission will treat TWG/Cadillac and its spending on suppliers, many of whom – including its engine manufacturer – are in Europe. Especially given the ephemeral nature of what currently passes for US government policy, if one can call it that.
SteveP
8th March 2025, 8:50
Much the same as they treat the other teams with suppliers in Europe, I would imagine.
pastaman
7th March 2025, 17:17
Reports are saying $450 million anti-dilution fee.
El Pollo Loco
7th March 2025, 17:58
Honestly, I’d rather they refuse than agree to that insane drive everyone away price. It sets a terrible precedent. And it’s not like back in the day when the fee was like a deposit that would get returned to you provided you met your obligations (I.E., show up to all the races for x number of seasons in a row).
El Pollo Loco
7th March 2025, 17:18
Can’t wait for the Escalade-F01. Sporty!
Jere (@jerejj)
7th March 2025, 20:25
Finally
Riker (@corsair)
7th March 2025, 20:44
About time!
Good to see 3 more spots (2 driver, one reserve) open up.
Paul (@frankjaeger)
7th March 2025, 22:34
Now 1 more team to go for the protectionist racket
Roger Ayles (@roger-ayles)
7th March 2025, 23:11
I’m happy to see 2 more cars on the grid but I couldn’t care less about who it is. I’d be far more excited for this if it was a privateer team been run by people with a love and passion for the sport rather than yet another big manufacturer who are there purely for marketing reasons.
It’s just impossible to get behind any of the current teams because none of them feel like they are there out of a love and passion for the sport and all of them feel like sterile corporations run by people who are there to make money rather than because they love the sport.
There’s no Frank Williams, Ken Tyrrell, Giancarlo Minardi, Eddie Jordan etc… People with teams you could get behind because you knew they were there because they loved the sport as much as you did and who brought character to the paddock.
I just miss the days when the sport didn’t feel like a sterile corporate run business full of people who tow the corporate line and are basically impossible to care about as a fan.
That’s actually maybe a part of why I care less about F1 now compared to what I used to as I no longer have any team or even a driver who I care about enough to really cheer on, support & be genuinely happy to see them do well.
That in turn makes me feel less connected to the sport than I once did.
Leksa (@leksa)
8th March 2025, 9:46
My words exactly!
I’m hoping there will be global economic recession that forces manufacturers out, so they’re left with 4 teams, meaning they are forced to accept any privateers without any anti-dilution fee (instead, paying them to join F1).
schooner (@schooner)
8th March 2025, 1:21
We know it’s a Ferrari PU for a couple years … anybody know if they will be constructing their own chassis, or go the Haas route to start with and outsource that as well? 2026 is right around the corner!
Alesici
8th March 2025, 7:26
Nice of Liberty to give them 1 whole year to create an F1 team, when it took them 2 years just to decide whether or not to give them the opporunity to. I guess making a decision is twice as difficult as creating an entire F1 team.
SteveP
8th March 2025, 9:00
You may have missed the reports, in almost every racing publication, about the recruitment of staff based at Silverstone.
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/andretti-f1-team-formally-opens-new-silverstone-facility/10597193/
Different name?
The entry will be run by the US organisation TWG in a revisioning of the initial bid.
The new team, which has a UK base at Silverstone, will be a joint effort between GM and TWG, with Dan Towriss, owner of US team Andretti Global, and TWG’s Mark Walter as the other key investors.
[source] https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/articles/c5ym58723v9o
MichaelN
8th March 2025, 9:15
They were already making that team, even on the assumption they would start this year. So this shouldn’t be a problem.
Alesici
8th March 2025, 7:40
I have a couple of questions – can anyone answer them?
1. At what point in time would the new team have been given access to the secret technical directives portion of the rules? Would seem pretty unfair if it was only today.
2. Bernie managed to reduce the number of F1 entries from 39 in 1989 to 20 in 2015 in a large part due to only the top 10 teams being awarded the evenly-distributed half of the prize money, and being provided air freight logistical support. Any teams outside of that got pretty much nothing – making it particularly cruel when Charles Pic ‘accidentally’ slowed his Manor Marussia in Brazil to let the Caterham past, thus passing on that massive chunk of prize money to his future team and triggering the beginning of the end for Marussia.
So does anyone know if that massive drop off in prize money between 10th and 11th in the championship still exist today? If so, I’m sure it won’t be long till we’re back to an insufficient 10 teams. They really need to change this to build in some resilience, by understanding that if the grid drops to 18 or 16 cars, the racing quality will nosedive.
SteveP
8th March 2025, 9:06
Evenly? There was a payment to Ferrari for just being Ferrari
anon
10th March 2025, 8:33
Alesici, to be blunt, a lot of those teams that you’re referring to from the late 1980s and early 1990s went broke because they were badly run and weren’t sustainable in the first place. People idealise that era, but when they talk about the volume of teams that were present, they often tend to gloss over those teams at the back and mostly just focus on those who were at the front of the grid.
David
8th March 2025, 8:43
Pleased to see another team on the grid (and tired of the gatekeeping by the current entrants, 24 cars are allowed, stop setting the bar so high for entry, it doesn’t matter if we have a couple of crap cars on the grid).
But I also think they will be a long way off the pace in 2026. Without a broad technical partnership, and with a recently formed factory with limited F1 experience, they will need a lot of time to get up to speed.
So we will see how deep the GM pockets are when they realise that F1 is 10x the WEC budget for 0.1x the success.
Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
8th March 2025, 8:53
Delighted.
Not only for a new team, but it means two more seats for F1 hopefuls to aspire to.