Cadillac will have a team in Formula One

With a surprise announcement on November 25, Formula 1 revealed the entry of Cadillac: the American automotive brand synonymous with luxury cars will become the eleventh team on the grid starting from the 2026 season. More precisely, the agreement with Formula 1 was finalized by General Motors, the company that owns the Cadillac brand, which will co-own the team along with TWG Global, a holding company already active in motorsports as the owner of Andretti Global, Wayne Taylor Racing, and Spire Motorsports. The goal of GM/Cadillac—the provisional name for the team as stated in the official announcement—is to become a constructor. General Motors has expressed its intention to develop its own power unit by the end of the decade; in the meantime, either Ferrari or Honda will supply power units to GM/Cadillac. Aesthetically, the Cadillac logo will be associated with the team, but there is no news yet regarding the team colors. The first graphic prototype features a blue car with a white nose showcasing the Cadillac logo prominently.

This is where the romantic aspect ends, and the chapter intertwining politics and money begins. As mentioned at the outset, the news of Cadillac joining F1 came as a surprise. Last January, an initial proposal was rejected because Michael Andretti’s project aimed for entry in 2025, which was seen as a major obstacle by F1 given the new regulations coming into effect in 2026. Furthermore, Andretti/Cadillac's entry was not considered a value addition to F1. On the contrary, it was believed that Andretti would benefit more from entering F1 than F1 would gain from Andretti's entry. To make matters worse, there were concerns that Andretti/Cadillac might damage the sport’s credibility if they failed to produce a competitive car, a highly likely scenario as rumors at the time linked them to Renault just as the French company was preparing to exit F1. So, what changed in recent months? Firstly, the project shifted its focus to 2026, making the entry proposal more viable. Moreover, many industry journalists agree that Michael Andretti stepping back from being the face of Cadillac’s F1 entry facilitated this shift in perspective.

Additionally, Cadillac's entry could resolve a significant political issue for F1 by prompting the House Judiciary Committee of the U.S. Government to close the investigation opened last May following a complaint from the Andretti family regarding the initial rejection of Cadillac's F1 entry. Now, the GM/Cadillac project is led by Dan Towriss, the CEO of TWG Global. And here we leave politics behind to talk about money. TWG, as the owner of Andretti Global—Michael Andretti’s team competing in IndyCar and Formula E—has always been part of the GM/Cadillac project but played a marginal role. Now, it has taken center stage. For this reason, TWG will cover part of what is known as the anti-dilution fund, essentially a compensation that GM/Cadillac must pay to the 10 existing teams due to a more fragmented revenue distribution.

Initially, there was talk of a $200 million fee to enter the F1 circuit, but as reconstructed by The Race, the figure will be determined under the next Concorde Agreement, the contract that governs Formula 1, including its commercial aspects. In 2026, the year GM/Cadillac will debut, a new Concorde Agreement with revised revenue figures will take effect. For this reason, the previously mentioned $200 million could rise to as much as $600 million. However, according to the BBC, the parties might settle for $450 million. It’s a significant sum, but with the current regulatory framework, Cadillac could build a more competitive car than initially expected, as it will have more freedom to work on the new regulations compared to the 10 existing teams. Additionally, F1 will strengthen its presence in the U.S. market by partnering with the largest American automotive giant, General Motors, and its luxury brand Cadillac, already active in endurance racing but now automatically associated with Formula 1.