Andretti Global and General Motors have spent the better part of the last 12 months fighting to get a Cadillac F1 entry on the grid. Despite plenty of opposition, GM and Andretti pushed ahead with sights set on competition in 2026, although the automaker was asked to consider joining forces with someone other than Michael Andretti to make it happen. Andretti stepped down from his ownership role to take a more behind-the-scenes approach a few months ago, satisfying F1 execs enough to seal the deal and put Caddy on the grid in 2026.
McLaren race car in 2015
According to a report from The Associated Press, Formula One and Formula One Management (FOM) are expected to approve the Cadillac F1 team as the 11th organization on the grid in the coming weeks. Dan Towriss, who has taken over leadership at Andretti Global following Michael Andretti’s decision to step back, attended the Las Vegas Grand Prix this week to assess the competition. Notably, the FBI was also reportedly present, linked to an ongoing Department of Justice investigation into the initial rejection of the Cadillac F1 team.
With Towriss now at the helm, FOM has been much more receptive to talks with Andretti Global. Interestingly, much of the opposition to adding Caddy to the grid has come from existing teams. They argue that adding an 11th team will dilute revenue streams, but ultimately, they don’t have a say in the matter. GM’s crosstown rival, Ford, has plans to reenter F1 in 2026 as well, and Ford Performance head Mark Rushbrook said he would welcome the friendly competition.
It’s also worth noting that GM itself is registered as a power unit manufacturer, but it won’t start producing engines until 2028. That means that the Cadillac F1 team would be GM-branded, but would harness an engine from a third party power unit manufacturer until then.
Comments
zero chance they are on grid for 2026….
Formula One is very expensive and GM has had four layoffs in recent months. I don’t see how they afford something like an F1 team that is icing on the cake for well-managed and growing carmakers when they’re slashing staff and continuing to retreat and shrink the company. Further an F1 team makes zero sense for their “all-electric” Cadillac brand.
At one time, I would’ve been excited by this news but not today; it’s a vanity project they can’t afford with little similarity to the EV SUVs a Cadillac dealership will have on offer.
You hit the nail dead center 👍
Yep, it makes zero sense for a company that is no longer a real global automaker and whose presence continues to shrink in the markets it does still compete in. All while ruthlessly slashing headcount.
As for using the Cadillac brand as an excuse to enter F1, lol it was never close to being a global luxury brand and never will be. Just a ruse to get BOD approval for that level of capital outlay.
Mark loves to spend his weekends attending races so apparently that a good enough reason to spend around $500M yearly on F1. On the other hand, they’ll likely browbeat some of their suppliers into contributing sponsorship money to help offset some of that.
Formula E would be a much better technology alignment for Cadillac and GM. Also, FE is more accessible to fans (potential customers).
The initial and ongoing investment required to enter this prissy fray is a loser. As an example, Hass has been racing since 2016, has yet to place higher than 4th and they most likely will never win a single race; I predict that gm will suffer a similar fate. This series has so many detractions that I won’t even watch a race unless it’s in the rain; it finally gets competitive regarding driver skill.
I would prefer to see GM become a top 2 manufacturer in GT3 racing before joining F1. I love F1 racing but I am not sure the shareholders of GM have the desire to play in this field at a level required to be truly successful.
Is Cadilliac even committed to building high performance road cars? Will there be another generation of ICE powered CT4-V and CT5-V? Even if they continue ICE Cadilliac road cars, are the sales volumes of those cars worthy of this type of open-ended financial commitment?
If they ARE going to do it, could the Cadilliac F1 car have Chevrolet power since almost all of the performance Cadilliac cars have had rebranded Chevrolet derived engines?
I think it would be amazing if GM is committed F1 but I don’t know if the Andretti part ads value. If you are picking an American racing organization to partner with, I would prefer to partner with Penske Racing any day. While Roger is alive, he will never let anything, but the best be the target. The guy is a driven proven winner in everything he does.
GM and Corvette can afford to be a leader in GT3. And Corvette sales going worldwide justify the investment.
Honda, Toyota, BMW, Ford, Jaguar, and Renault have all decided they could not afford to be a leader in F1. I’m all for doing it if GM’s commitment level means consistent podiums and realistically chasing manufacturer’s championships backed by a realistic plan to achieve that level of success.
Man, Michael, musta really pissed off someone.
Yeah, it was definitely personal.
I’ve watched several FE Races. Bricks with wheels.