It's now official: General engines will be, with Cadillac, the eleventh team on the grid of the Formula 1 from the 2026 season. Thus, months of negotiations are coming to an end after the FIA gave the green light to the Americans to enter the Grand Circus, which was followed by the response from the championship itself, more reluctant about the project.
This agreement will see General Motors join first as a customer team, in 2026, while developing its own powertrains which will be used from 2028. To do this, they will use the project that Andretti Global has already created, with its Silverstone facilities as the backbone and with big names in the project. The same day the news was confirmed, the arrival of Rob White, former technical director of Renault, was announced.
This is how F1 confirmed the principle of an agreement in a press release: “With Formula 1's continued growth plans in the United States, we have always believed that welcoming an impressive American brand like GM/Cadillac on the grid, and General Motors as future supplier of power units, could bring additional value and interest to the sport” said Greg Maffei, CEO and president of Liberty Media, who is set to resign.
“We credit the leadership of General Motors and its partners with significant progress in their preparation for entry into Formula 1.. “We are excited to move forward with the bid process for the GM/Cadillac team to compete in the championship in 2026.”
GM Chairman Mark Reuss added: “As the pinnacle of motorsport, F1 demands cutting-edge innovation and excellence. General Motors and Cadillac are honored to join the world's premier racing series, and we are committed to running with passion and integrity to elevate the sport to racing fans around the world. “This is a global stage to demonstrate GM’s engineering expertise and technological leadership to a whole new level.”
During the last Las Vegas Grand Prix, Motorsport.com he announced that Conversations between General Motors, the brand behind the Andretti – Cadillac project, and Formula 1 had advanced a lot towards an entry in 2026. This move comes after the departure of Michael Andretti from the team to which he gives his name, Andretti Global. The former pilot, who led these negotiations with the World Championship at the beginning, stepped down last September and handed over management to 1001 Group CEO Dan Towriss.who first became associated with the company following sponsorship from Gainbridge, one of its subsidiaries. Towriss was spotted in the Las Vegas paddock, where there were more approaches.
Michael Andretti
General Motors partnered with Andretti after legendary family showed obvious interest in Formula 1just as they are in other championships like the IndyCar wave Formula E.
Despite the approval of the Federation led by Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the World Cup rejected the proposal for commercial reasons, saying that it would not be able to be competitive in the medium term and therefore it would not would not provide sufficient value. despite what the surname Andretti implies. The Andretti family did not accept the answer and launched a campaign against F1, including the involvement of the US Congress and the Department of Justice, which pleased neither the championship nor its owners, Liberty Media .
FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem said the governing body “fully supports” This latest development: ” General Motors is a huge brand and a global powerhouse, and it works with great partners. I fully support the efforts made by the FIA, Formula 1, GM and the team to maintain dialogue and work towards this result, an agreement in principle to move forward and bring a GM/Cadillac branded team to the grid by 2026. All parties, including the FIA, will continue to work together to ensure the process progresses smoothly.”
Despite F1's initial rejection, Andretti Global continued to develop its F1 program at its Silverstone factory, hiring numerous staff and producing a wind tunnel model manufacture a single-seater according to 2026 regulations.
