General Motors Cadillac has been officially welcomed as the 11th team on the grid for the 2026 F1 Season. FIA and F1 management have confirmed that Cadillac has completed the requirements for joining the grid.
This comes two years after Michael Andretti initially appealed to the FIA to let his team enter the sport. After his bid was rejected, Andretti managed to join forces with GM Cadillac, and his efforts have finally borne fruit. F1 will be massively benefitting with another American team, especially one of Cadillac’s standing, in the sport.
Cadillac’s entry to F1 is a “positive demonstration”
F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, who has been working closely with Cadillac, said that the American outfit’s entry to the sport is important for the evolution of the sport.
“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.” said Domenicali.
FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem also added to Domenicali’s statement, saying how Cadillac will up the ante.
🚨| BREAKING NEWS:
General Motors Cadillac officially joins the 2026 F1 grid as the 11th team!
[📰 @F1 ] pic.twitter.com/jvcMc5KcMR
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) March 7, 2025
“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.”
Indeed, the addition of an 11th team means more fierce competition and two more cars on the grid, which can only push the other drivers to push for more. Cadillac hasn’t announced the drivers that will occupy those seats, but it has some huge potential contenders.
But with Cadillac’s confirmation into the sport, many wonder why General Motors succeeded where Michael Andretti did not?
US Government’s involvement in Cadillac’s entry
After Michael Andretti’s repeated rejections from the FIA for his F1 entry bid, he approached General Motors and Cadillac.
On May 1st 2024, the US Government got involved and sent a letter to the CEO of Liberty Media, Gregory Maffei.
The heavily-worded letter accused Liberty Media and F1 of “apparent anti-competitive actions that could prevent two American companies” from competing in F1.”
🚨| 12 members of the US Congress have written a letter to F1 owners, Liberty Media demanding justification for rejecting Andretti Global’s bid to enter F1 in 2026. 👀#F1 #Formula1 pic.twitter.com/mZRKiiYhmx
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) May 1, 2024
Representative John James also accused Liberty Media of “cartel-like behaviour”. He also accused them of “kicking the can down the road for a different agreement, so that they can go from $200 million to $1 billion extracted from Andretti-Cadillac?”
The letter also mentioned how it is not just about supporting Andretti but supporting American citizens as a whole. This investigation played a part in Cadillac’s eventual place on the grid. FIA also underwent a huge personnel change including a CEO change. However, it is not known whether these two events are related.
Constant rejections from FIA didn’t deter Andretti as he continued to build facilities for his F1 dream. While Cadillac F1 managed to enter the sport, Andretti himself won’t be involved. However, his contributions will not be forgotten by the American team.
Cadillac F1 is rumored to use Ferrari engines until 2028, after which they will produce their own.
