Cadillac to Join F1 in 2026, Previews Future F1 Car
Cadillac and Andretti will have a Formula 1 team in 2026 after all. The announcement was made on Monday following an agreement in principle between their parent companies (General Motors and TWG Global, respectively) and F1 management led by CEO Stefano Domenicali, who talked about “an important and positive demonstration of the evolution of our sport.”
Cadillac will be the first new team to join F1 since 2016, making it the eleventh team on the starting grids.
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GM is also launching an F1 power unit that will put Cadillac’s F1 team on the path to being a “full works” team—building its own F1 cars and power units—by the end of the decade, the automaker said in a statement that was shared along with a preview of the car.
“As the pinnacle of motorsports, F1 demands boundary-pushing innovation and excellence. It’s an honour for General Motors and Cadillac to join the world’s premier racing series, and we’re committed to competing with passion and integrity to elevate the sport for race fans around the world,” GM President Mark Reuss said. “This is a global stage for us to demonstrate GM’s engineering expertise and technology leadership at an entirely new level.”
Mario Andretti, who happens to be the last American to win the F1 drivers’ championship, will serve as a director on the team’s board.
“My first love was Formula 1 and now—70 years later—t he F1 paddock is still my happy place. I’m absolutely thrilled with Cadillac, Formula 1, Mark Walter and Dan Towriss (at TWG Global),” Andretti said. “To still be involved at this stage of my life, I have to pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming.”
Cadillac has assembled an experienced team to work on aerodynamics, chassis and component development, software, and vehicle dynamics simulation since GM’s bid to join F1 was announced in January 2023. It has operations in Fishers, Indiana; Charlotte, North Carolina; Warren, Michigan; and Silverstone, England.
Naturally, GM has promised that innovations created for F1 will trickle down to its road-going vehicles from Cadillac and other brands, whether electric or conventionally powered.
Other automakers will join F1 when the new rules come into effect for the 2026 season. Ford has teamed up with Red Bull as a power unit supplier, while Honda has done the same with Aston Martin. Audi is set to become a full works team following a deal with Sauber.
