The F1 of new rivalries
The 2026 revolution is bringing new teams, new engine manufacturers, and names that had never previously set foot in the Formula 1 paddock, such as Audi and Cadillac, alongside brands returning to a leading role, including Ford. For the American giant, which recently unveiled the Red Bull and Racing Bulls liveries in Detroit to celebrate its work on the power unit alongside the Milton Keynes team, a stars-and-stripes “derby” with Cadillac has already begun. Cadillac, for its part, has partnered with General Motors, which will supply power units starting from 2029.
In Michigan, comments made several months ago by Cadillac CEO Dan Towriss did not go unnoticed. Towriss had emphasized that the agreement between Ford and Red Bull was largely a marketing operation, while the team linked to Mario Andretti would go racing under its own name and with a far greater level of commitment.
Towriss’ words
“Ford’s involvement is a marketing deal and has minimal impact, whereas General Motors is a shareholder. They are deeply rooted from an engineering standpoint and have been involved since day one. These two agreements could not be more different,” Dan Towriss said, in what was clearly a provocative statement.
Ford’s response
Ford’s reply arrived in the past few hours. CEO Jim Farley dismissed Dan Towriss’ remarks outright (“They have no value, they’re laughable,” he told The Drive), while executive chairman Bill Ford firmly rejected the criticism.
“These are blatantly absurd comments, and they genuinely surprised me. In fact, the opposite is true: they are using a Ferrari engine, not a Cadillac one. I don’t even know whether they have General Motors employees in their race team. If there is anything that looks like a marketing initiative, it’s exactly that,” Bill Ford said.
His son Will Ford, managing director of Ford Performance, added: “We could have spent a lot of money just putting our logo on a car or attaching our name to a team. Instead, we have a real technical partnership within Red Bull Ford Powertrains.”
The escalating war of words between Ford and Cadillac signals the birth of a fierce “Detroit Derby” that will likely define the American narrative in Formula 1 for years to come. By dismissing Cadillac’s entry as a “Ferrari-powered” marketing stunt, Ford is positioning itself as the only true American manufacturer with immediate technical skin in the game through the Red Bull Ford Powertrains project. As Cadillac prepares for its 2026 debut, this friction ensures that every battle on track between the Red Bulls and the Cadillacs will be fueled by corporate pride and a fight for engineering legitimacy.
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