A little more than three months after announcing an agreement in principle for the arrival of the Cadillac stable in Formula 1, the FIA and the FOM officially confirmed the extension of the starting grid from 2026.
There are now no doubts. Composed of ten stables since the start of the 2017 season, following the disappearance of Manor, the starting grid of Formula 1 will experience a new expansion in a few months. While Michael Andretti came up against a wall for several years, failing to buy Sauber then not having convinced the little world of F1 that his stable would bring a capital gains in the championship, the project he initiated will finally come to life.
Last November, on the sidelines of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the FOM had announced an agreement in principle with General Motors and the Twg Global group which could allow Cadillac to integrate the starting grid as eleventh stable. A little more than three months later, the conditional is no longer in order because, through a press release, the candidacy of the brand of the General Motors group was definitively accepted.
Cadillac with Ferrari before using its own engine
“The FIA and the FOM can confirm that, following the conclusion of their sports, technical and commercial assessments, the candidacy carried by General Motors and TWG Motorsports to hire a Cadillac team in the World Formula 1 championship from the 2026 season has been validated,” said this press release. A sibylline statement which thus ends a real obstacle course for a second American stable to come and grow the ranks of F1.
While General Motors is targeting a commitment with its own engine by the end of the decade, the Cadillac stable will start its adventure via a partnership with Ferrari. In parallel, General Motors has of Ores-et-Déj launched its engine project, under the responsibility of the current manager of the engine department of the entity dedicated to the performance of the Russ O’blenes group. While Graeme Lowdon, former boss of the Manor stable, will be in charge of the Cadillac project, the names of Colton Herta and Sergio Pérez come back to take the wheel of the two single -seaters in 2026.
