General Motors is expected to join the grid in 2026 after F1 revealed ‘an agreement in principle’ has been reached.
Formula 1 has announced that an ‘agreement in principle’ has been made with General Motors, which will become the 11th team on the grid starting in 2026.
After months of speculation and debate toward the end of the 2023 season, F1 announced that Andretti’s bid to join the grid with GM/Cadillac was rejected.
Following the news of rejection, Michael Andretti stepped back from the deal, despite already having built a factory in Silverstone, hiring staff and beginning work on a 2026 model in the wind tunnel. With the news of General Motors joining the grid, the team will take over the remains of Andretti Global’s project.
What senior personnel had to say
A statement on Monday was released, which revealed that after months of speculation, the team’s efforts had been accepted, with Libery media CEO and president Greg Maffei expressing his delight in the expansion of the grid:
“With Formula 1’s continued growth plans in the US, we have always believed that welcoming an impressive US brand like GM/Cadillac to the grid and GM as a future power unit supplier could bring additional value and interest to the sport,”
“We credit the leadership of General Motors and their partners with significant progress in their readiness to enter Formula 1. We are excited to move forward with the application process for the GM/Cadillac team to enter the Championship in 2026.”
The GM President, Mark Reuss said:
“As the pinnacle of motorsports, F1 demands boundary-pushing innovation and excellence. It’s an honour for General Motors and Cadillac to join the world’s premier racing series, and we’re committed to competing with passion and integrity to elevate the sport for race fans around the world. This is a global stage for us to demonstrate GM’s engineering expertise and technology leadership at an entirely new level.”
Following the announcement, Mario Andretti is confirmed to be the director on the teams board, having stepped down from his role at Andretti Global back in October.
FIA president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem also gave a statement regarding the news:
“General Motors is a huge global brand and powerhouse in the OEM world and is working with impressive partners.
“I am fully supportive of the efforts made by the FIA, Formula 1, GM and the team to maintain dialogue and work towards this outcome of an agreement in principle to progress this application to bring a GM/Cadillac branded team onto the grid for the 2026 FIA Formula One World Championship. All parties, including the FIA, will continue to work together to ensure the process progresses smoothly.”
Featured image credits: Cadillacvseries on Instagram