Following the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix, Formula 1 announced its support for General Motors to become the eleventh FIA Formula One World Championship team, starting in 2026. The team will be branded GM/Cadillac and will field two drivers.
The F1 application process, which began nearly a year ago in January 2024, still has additional steps to complete, but F1’s agreement in principle with General Motors is a crucial milestone. Team branding was important in gaining F1’s support, as was GM’s consent to become an engine supplier and build its own race cars by 2030.
The significance of a GM/Cadillac F1 team
Formula 1 is due for significant changes with the next generation of F1 race cars. The technical rules and regulations for the new cars will be in force beginning in 2026. The specifications for the new race cars will require that they run exclusively on biofuels for the combustion engine in the hybrid power unit and that a greater portion of the power is sourced from batteries than the current rules require.
These changes reflect F1’s commitment to sustainability and net zero emissions. General Motors is also working on advanced electrification technologies, and F1 will showcase the company’s advances.
How the GM/Cadillac F1 team will come together
General Motors also announced it is partnering with TWG Global, a motorsports company that owns and operates Andretti Global, Wayne Taylor Racing, and Spire Motorsports. Mario Andretti, who won the F1 Championship in 1978, will serve on the team’s board of directors.
“My first love was Formula 1 and now – 70 years later – the F1 paddock is still my happy place. I’m absolutely thrilled with Cadillac, Formula 1, Mark Walter, and Dan Towriss,” said Andretti. “To still be involved at this stage of my life — I have to pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming.”
