It’ll be a battle for the ages when Ford and General Motors face off on the Formula 1 grid in 2026. Ford will be working with Red Bull Powertrains to build engines from that point forward, while Cadillac will partner with Andretti Global to enter a Ferrari-powered car as the 11th team. Sorry Europe, you had your time in the spotlight, this is an American sport now. The 2026 Cadillac is ushering in a new era of good old-fashioned American whoop ass.
You might talk about Red Bull or Mercedes as a dynasty, but you need to prepare yourself for Caddy to sweep the constructors’ championship for the next 20 years.
Mohammed Ben Sulayem, President of the FIA: “General Motors is a huge global brand and powerhouse in the OEM world and is working with impressive partners. I am fully supportive of the efforts made by the FIA, Formula 1, GM and the team to maintain dialogue and work towards this outcome of an agreement in principle to progress this application to bring a GM/Cadillac branded team on the grid for the 2026 FIA Formula One World Championship. All parties, including the FIA, will continue to work together to ensure the process progresses smoothly.”
Mark Reuss, President of General Motors: “As the pinnacle of motorsports, F1 demands boundary-pushing innovation and excellence. It’s an honor 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. This is a global stage for us to demonstrate GM’s engineering expertise and technology leadership at an entirely new level.”
This has been an effort truly years in the making for Andretti Global, and in spite of the sport’s (possibly warranted) smear campaign against it, and a federal anti-trust investigation, the effort has been worth the pain. All it took was Michael Andretti stepping down from his role in the team and poof, the motion is approved. Andretti’s business partner Dan Towriss will take over the operation of the team’s effort, and hopefully uses his power to bring in the right people and make this a real effort, unlike Gene Haas and the back-of-the-grid mess that Haas F1 has been.
As I mentioned before, Cadillac will enter the sport with a brand new from-the-ground-up car design in 2026, but GM has decided that it doesn’t have enough advance notice between now and 2026 to get its powertrain ready to compete. GM will enter as an engine supplier “at a later time.”
I don’t know about the rest of you American F1 fans, but I’m hopeful that after a few seasons in the sport Cadillac can earn the right to put laurels back on its crested logo. It’s time for Caddy to return to its rightful spot as the standard of the World.
Who do you think will drive for Cadillac in 2026? Will they hire an American racer? Let us know your predictions in the comments, and we can all show off our new Cadillac F1 tattoos. Go America!