General Motors is set to become the first U.S. automaker with a Formula 1 team when a Cadillac-branded team joins the racing series in 2026, F1 announced Monday, ending a yearslong battle between the league and former driver Michael Andretti, who initially proposed the new team.
The F1 Grand Prix of Las Vegas on Nov. 23, 2024 in Las Vegas.
Formula 1 has reached an agreement with General Motors to bring an 11th team, called Cadillac F1, to its grid in 2026.
The team will be run by Andretti Global majority owners Dan Towriss and Mark Walter after Andretti himself stepped aside from leading the organization in September.
General Motors plans to have a Cadillac engine built for competition in time for the 2028 season, the Associated Press reported, and the team will use Ferrari engines its first two years.
What drivers will race for the team is still unknown, but Andretti's initial dream was to build a team with all American drivers and names that have been floated as contenders include Colton Herta, Alexander Rossi and Josef Newgarden.
The approval of the GM team ends an inquiry from the U.S. Justice Department into Liberty Media, owner of the Formula One Group, after Andretti Global was denied entry into the Formula 1 World Championship for 2024.
The Cadillac team will not be the only American team on the F1 grid—the Haas F1 team is owned by California businessman Gene Haas—but that team is ranked in the bottom half and hasn’t fielded an American driver since it joined F1 in 2016.
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