Cadillac F1 team approved for 2026 season with new General Motors-backed entry to join as grid’s 11th outfit | F1 News

The new Cadillac team will join the grid from the 2026 season after the General Motors-backed entry was approved by the FIA and F1.

The confirmation of the entry of American car giant GM’s luxury brand into the sport means the Formula 1 grid will expand to 11 teams from next year.

It was announced last November that Cadillac had secured an agreement in principle to join the grid as part of a revised offering from GM in conjunction with US group TWG Motorsports, which sees General Motors committed to running its own works engine by the end of the decade.

Before its work engine is ready to use, the Cadillac team has secured a deal to initially run Ferrari’s engine and gearbox from its first season in a deal announced in December.

GM has set up its own engine company to develop its first F1 power unit.

A short joint statement read: “The FIA and Formula 1 can confirm that, following the completion of their respective sporting, technical and commercial assessments, the application by General Motors and TWG Motorsports to bring a Cadillac team to the FIA Formula One World Championship from 2026 has been approved.”

F1 president Stefano Domenicali said: “As we said in November, the commitment by General Motors to bring a Cadillac team to Formula 1 was an important and positive demonstration of the evolution of our sport.

“I want to thank GM and TWG for their constructive engagement over many months and look forward to welcoming the team on the grid from 2026 for what will be another exciting year for Formula 1.”

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem said: “Today marks a transformative moment, and I am proud to lead the federation in this progressive step for the championship.

“The FIA Formula One Championship’s expansion to an 11th team in 2026 is a milestone. GM/Cadillac brings fresh energy, aligning with the new FIA 2026 regulations and ushering in an exciting era for the sport.

“The Cadillac Formula 1 Team’s presence in the paddock will inspire future competitors and fans. Their entry strengthens our mission to push motorsport’s boundaries at the highest level.”

Dan Towriss is the chief executive of TWG Global’s newly-formed motorsport arm, TWG Motorsports, which already runs different entities across world motorsport, while Britain’s Graeme Lowdon, the former sporting director of the Marussia team, is the Cadillac team principal.

Although F1 originally rejected an initial version of the bid, which had been approved and put forward to them for final consideration by the FIA, for the team to join the grid before 2028 when it was submitted under the Andretti name with GM backing in January 2024, the sport left the door open to consider a revised proposal.

It is thought that the greater subsequent commitment from General Motors – which is one of the big three US carmarkers – to building its own engine for the future and the deal to source a customer powertrain deal from an existing F1 manufacturer in the intervening period so to avoid a compulsory supply arrangement proved decisive in F1’s deliberations on the second iteration of the entry bid.

Mario Andretti, the US racing legend and 1978 F1 world champion, remains part of the project as an advisor.

So who could end up driving for F1’s newest team?

Now that the entry is confirmed, media focus around the team will inevitably swiftly turn to Cadillac’s search for drivers with two extra places to now open up on the coveted Formula 1 grid.

Experienced F1 race winners Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas have already been linked with the entry since losing their respective Red Bull and Sauber seats and dropping off the grid at the end of last season, while the outfit has spoken about the desire to have one American driver in their inaugural line-up.

IndyCar’s Colton Herta, the American 24-year-old who currently drives for the Andretti team and has won nine races in the US-based series, appears to be in the running.

Speaking to Sky Sports last month, Towriss said: “I think we would love to see an American driver in Formula 1 but we certainly want to make sure we do it the right way.

“I think it’s crucially important that that person is set up for success. It won’t be a process of just grabbing an American and sticking him behind the wheel. We want to do it proper, and so more to come on that.”

He added: “Certainly I think an experienced driver is crucial for setting up a new team from that standpoint, so we’re definitely looking at bringing some experience to the driver tandem.

“There are a number of American drivers who have experience in the lower Formula series. So that’s not Formula 1 but there are drivers that know the tracks and have been in the lower Formula series, grew up there.

“So, we’ll work on that and we’ll see what comes up.”

And Mario Andretti told Sky Sports News at the recent F1 75 Live event at London’s O2: “It’s an absolute objective to have at least one American and I think that’s what started this whole programme.

“We’d like to begin with that and also one very experienced driver with whatever nationality.”

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