After two years of development and numerous setbacks, Formula 1 Management (FOM) has officially approved the application submitted by General Motors and TWG Motorsports to establish a Cadillac team in the FIA Formula One World Championship.
The team will make its debut in the 2026 season, marking the first time a wholly new entrant has joined the grid since Haas in 2016. This addition will bring the total number of teams to 11 and drivers to 22, with Audi also joining the championship taking over from Sauber and Ford returning as a technical partner to Red Bull Powertrains teaming up with Red Bull.
The entry process has not been without challenges. The initial proposal submitted by General Motors and TWG Motorsports in January 2023 underwent revisions in response to feedback from the F1. In May 2023, seven teams responded to the FIA’s call for expressions of interest, with only four subsequently invited to submit formal applications.
On October 2, 2023, the FIA announced that the bid submitted by Andretti/Cadillac was the only application that met all applicable criteria and was therefore permitted to proceed to the final phase of the process, which involved the commercial evaluation of the team’s viability with Formula 1 as the commercial rights holder.
At this juncture, the bid encountered its initial impediment, primarily due to extensive discussions in the paddock that revolved around the allocation of prize money to the teams and the buy-in amount for a new team, which was set at a time when the commercial value of Formula 1 was significantly diminished. Formula 1 management rejected the bid on January 31, 2024, stipulating that if it were resubmitted for 2028 with a General Motors (GM) power unit, either as a GM works team or a GM customer team designing all permissible components in-house, it would consider it more favourably at that point. The initial bid envisioned Andretti joining with an Alpine engine supply that was subsequently rebranded prior to the withdrawal of Alpine/Renault supply for 2026.
Subsequently, the bid underwent a substantial transformation when it was announced that Cadillac would establish the team as a works team with the assistance of TWG Motorsports, which had assumed the role of the parent company responsible for Andretti Motorsports at that time. This team would initially be powered by Ferrari engines before transitioning to its own power supply by the end of the decade. Consequently, this revised bid came to be known as the Cadillac F1 team.
At the Las Vegas Grand Prix last year, Formula 1 announced an agreement with General Motors to join the sport and would subsequently revisit the bid in light of the preceding modifications before formally adopting it into the grid, which was accomplished yesterday.
Since the announcement of the bid to join Formula 1 in January 2023, TWG Motorsports has assembled an experienced team of over 300 individuals engaged in aerodynamics, chassis and component development, software, and vehicle dynamics simulation. Development work aimed at joining the grid in 2026 has progressed at a steady pace, with operational wind-tunnel models, parts production, and performance testing in full swing. The team maintains operations in Indianapolis, Indiana; Charlotte, North Carolina; Warren, Michigan; and Silverstone, England.
Now, two significant questions remain: can Cadillac achieve success in Formula 1, and which two drivers are they currently seeking to acquire for the team now that this entry has been officially confirmed?