Formula 1 and the FIA have finally officially confirmed Cadillac’s entry into the top open-wheel series starting in 2026. However, the road to this point has been long and full of obstacles, with scenarios changing just a few months ago. Let’s retrace the entire story from the Federation’s initial opening to the final agreement.
After the initial agreement reached last November and the announcement of a supply deal with Ferrari for the power unit and gearbox, only FIA and Liberty’s official confirmation was missing for Cadillac’s entry into Formula 1 in 2026.
That confirmation arrived on Friday with a joint statement from the International Federation and F1, finally opening the doors of the top open-wheel series to a project that, before receiving final approval, encountered several hurdles along the way.
Just over a year ago, in fact, the Andretti project, from which Cadillac’s initiative originates, was rejected as not being attractive enough for the series. Now, however, the American dream is a reality. Let’s look back at the key milestones of this long journey leading to today’s approval. Each event in the timeline is linked to a dedicated article.
January 2, 2023: Mohammed Ben Sulayem opens up to the idea of a new team
Since 2017, the season following the collapse of Manor, Formula 1 has had ten teams on the starting grid. The Federation hoped to increase this number with a project that could genuinely add value to the competition.
The idea was put forward by the President of the governing body himself, who, in a social media post, expressed his intention to explore the possibility of launching an application process for new teams.
“I have asked my FIA team to explore the opportunity of launching an Expression of Interest process for potential new teams for the FIA Formula One World Championship,” read the tweet published on January 2, 2023.
January 5, 2023: Andretti goes public with Cadillac
A few days after Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s announcement, Andretti quickly came forward, announcing that it had reached an agreement to create an all-American team under the Cadillac Racing brand. The project’s foundation would be managed by Andretti itself, but the hope was that the support of a major brand like Cadillac would be a crucial factor in gaining approval from both F1 and the FIA.
“I welcomed the news of the partnership between Andretti and Cadillac. The FIA looks forward to further exploring the ongoing process to assess interest in new entries to Formula 1,” the President of the governing body commented in a tweet after Andretti confirmed its intention to participate in the Expression of Interest process.
“The news from the United States is further proof of the popularity and growth of the FIA-managed Formula One World Championship.”
February 2023: Expression of Interest process opens
In just over a month, words turned into actions. In February 2023, the FIA opened the process through which teams interested in joining the championship could submit proposals, which would then be evaluated by the governing body.
The FIA had stated that it would assess the potential of a new team based on a “rigorous financial and technical analysis” and “sustainability and positive social impact criteria.” Keeping in mind the failed experiences of the early 2010s—when the lack of a cost cap severely disadvantaged smaller teams—the Federation wanted to ensure that new participants were capable of establishing a serious and sustainable project.
Each interested team had to demonstrate its technical capabilities and financial resources, both in terms of human and economic capital, to determine how viable the project would be in the long run. Additionally, applicants had to present their approach to environmental sustainability, aligning with the goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2030.
October 2023: Andretti is the only team to meet FIA criteria
After a lengthy approval process lasting over six months, the Federation announced that Andretti was the only project to meet the necessary criteria for approval and advancement to the next step—negotiations with FOM.
“The FIA was very clear in establishing strict entry criteria from the outset of the procedure. Our goal, after the application phase, was to approve only those entries that met the established criteria and demonstrated the ability to add value to the sport,” Mohammed Ben Sulayem explained at the time of the announcement.
“The FIA is obliged to approve applications that meet the requirements, and we followed this procedure in deciding that Andretti Formula Racing LLC’s application would move to the next phase of the process.”
However, to secure a spot on the grid, FIA approval alone was not enough—Liberty Media, the commercial rights holder of Formula 1, also had to approve.
January 2024: Andretti’s project rejected by Liberty
Despite clearing the first hurdle, approval from F1 did not follow. In January 2024, F1 listed numerous reasons for rejecting the American team’s application.
The championship’s leadership argued that Andretti’s entry would not bring any tangible additional value to the category. Instead, F1 believed that Andretti itself would be the main beneficiary, leveraging the sport’s rising popularity.
Andretti was also criticized for planning to debut with a customer power unit supplied by Renault, as GM would not be directly involved in the initial years—aside from rebranding the French manufacturer’s engine. The collaboration with the American giant had been a key selling point for Andretti but was ultimately insufficient to sway F1’s decision.
However, F1 left the door open for 2028, when GM was expected to officially enter with its own power unit. “We would assess a team’s application differently for the 2028 championship if it came with a GM power unit—either as an official GM team or as a GM customer team designing all permitted components in-house.” Liberty Media’s goal was clear: to have a major brand on the grid, fully committed to the project.
November 2024: First approval for Cadillac/GM
Eleven months after the initial rejection, circumstances evolved significantly. After weeks of rumors, controversy, doubts, and speculation, in November 2024, F1 confirmed it had reached an agreement with Cadillac for a potential 2026 entry. The parties had found common ground on several contentious issues that had led Liberty Media to reject Andretti’s initial application in January.
The departure of Michael Andretti from the Andretti Group in October and Greg Maffei’s non-renewal with Liberty Media were two key developments that paved the way for Cadillac-General Motors to be accepted as the 11th team from 2026. With these figures exiting the negotiations and GM taking a more prominent role in the project, many previous concerns disappeared.
The American brand committed to greater investments and a more active role in the team, to the point where the team was completely renamed, removing the Andretti name—except for Mario Andretti, who remains as a consultant for driver selection.
March 2025: The project gets the green light, Cadillac will enter F1
Following the November agreement, only official recognition was missing for the project that will bring the 11th team to F1 next year. Just over a year after Andretti’s dramatic rejection, circumstances changed, and after finalizing the last details, Cadillac finally secured approval from both the FIA and Liberty Media.
“GM’s commitment to bringing a Cadillac team to F1 is a significant and positive demonstration of the evolution of our sport. I want to thank GM and TWG for their dedicated efforts over many months, and I look forward to welcoming the team to the grid in 2026,” said F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali.
Behind the scenes, Cadillac had already been active for a long time, continuing work originally initiated under Andretti. Operations had been ongoing at the Silverstone headquarters and the Cologne wind tunnel under the leadership of Graeme Lowdon, who was appointed team principal a few months earlier. Additionally, Rob White, Pat Symonds, and Nick Chester had taken charge of the technical side.
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