Cadillac Joins Formula One In Shocking Move

Formula One has been looking for a new team for a while now and it was just officially announced that spot will be filled by Cadillac and GM. It’s a shock for some since in the early part of the year Cadillac’s application to FIA was accepted but reports indicated the American automaker was soundly rejected by the big names in the prestigious motorsport.

Would you buy a 2023 Maserati MC20 at a steep discount?

Cadillac will start competing in F1 starting in 2026, with GM helping by building cars and engines by 2030. Until then, Cadillac will be using designs sourced from another builder. This marks the first new team in the sport since 2016, so it’s a big deal.

Of course, there are naysayers who are less than enthused about the move. After all, they believe only European automakers should be involved in F1. Cadillac and GM are too blue collar and common for the motorsport, or so they believe. But with how expensive it is to be in F1, let alone develop cars and engines, there are few organizations which could finance a team.

One of the benefits Cadillac gets is more F1 technologies to trickle into production cars. That move has worked great for some automakers, although others have failed to fully capitalize on such an arrangement. It will genuinely be interesting to see how that plays out.

Then there’s the brand recognition. Everyone can argue about how good or flawed modern Caddies have been, the fact is the luxury arm of GM has suffered a serious blow to its image in the past several decades.

If Cadillac can really compete in F1 racing, that could help rehabilitate its brand image. Of course, motorsports and passenger cars can be quite different, but some people might warm more to owning a Caddie because of this new team.

One other notable item from the official announcement is that Mario Andretti will be the director of the team’s board. The F1 Champion took to Elon Musk’s X to clarify he won’t be “involved in day-to-day operations” of the Cadillac team.

Image via Cadillac

I feel very lucky that I've been able to stick around for this long and do what I love for so long. And the idea that the Cadillac F1 Team wants me around….I'll help where I can, a non-executive role with the team, not involved in day-to-day operations (because I don't want a…

— Mario Andretti (@MarioAndretti) November 25, 2024