Cadillac F1 Team: How an American Team Joined the Grid

On February 8, 2026, General Motors aired a one-minute TV broadcast during the 60th Super Bowl to introduce its Formula One cars to Americans. The car was black on one side and white on the other. The following month, the car completed its first Grand Prix at Melbourne. All of this took three years, generated a lot of public outrage, and cost a $450 million entry fee. To be honest, I was not optimistic at the time.

Cadillac F1 at a glance

The Andretti bid nobody wanted

The story begins with the Andretti family. In January 2023, Michael Andretti and the team submitted plans to reunite in F1. The FIA approved the proposal. However, F1’s commercial arm, which paid the bill, rejected the offer. On January 31, 2024, F1 rejected the request. They claimed the team was not “a competitive participant” and that being a “customer” would “damage” F1’s reputation. I remember how worried the Americans were back then. Mario Andretti, the last American to win the world title (in 1978), was told that his family was not good enough.

GM, TWG and a $450 million ticket

But General Motors didn’t do that. In September 2024, Michael Andretti stepped back into an advisory role. In November 2024, Mark Walter’s company, TWG Global, took over the business division with Dan Towriss as CEO, with Mario joining the board. On 7 March 2025, Formula 1 announced that Cadillac would be its 11th team for the 2026 season, for which the team paid $450 million.

The group operates on two continents. Its headquarters are in a $200 million campus in Fishers, Indiana; the team raced at Silverstone racecourse; the engine plant is in Concord, North Carolina; and other manufacturing facilities are located in Warren, Michigan. Furthermore, Cadillac rents the Toyota wind tunnel in Cologne. The team currently uses Ferrari engines and gearboxes, and plans to switch to GM engines in 2029.

Bottas, Pérez and a car named for Mario

Cadillac announced its drivers for the Aug. 26, 2025, highlighting their experience. Sergio Perez has won six Grands Prix and Valtteri Bottas has won ten. Lowdon called it a “bold signal of intent.” The car will be called MAC-26, a reference to Mario Andretti’s Cadillac, which he believes will help carry the Andretti family name into the series. The technical side is led by Nick Chester, with Pat Symonds as a consultant.

Melbourne to Mexico

The first time was, as expected, awkward. Nineteen rounds later, Cadillac finished empty-handed on the 11th of 11 teams. Their best result was a 13th-place finish in the Chinese Grand Prix, which Bottas claimed. His closest point came in Monaco, where Perez finished 10th, but then a 10-second penalty dropped him to 15th.

On 12 August 2026, Lowdon will be replaced by Marcin Budkowski, who has worked for Ferrari, McLaren, the FIA and Alpine. His first performance was in Zandvoort. Racing at home in Mexico and the 300th Grand Prix, Perez earned a 5-second penalty for exceeding the speed limit and ultimately finished 16th. Bottas crashed on lap 46 and lost his front tire.

What it means for American fans

After many years, the production teams of the major American car brands have returned to Formula 1. To celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, the teams wore American flag skins at the Miami circuit and unveiled special skins at the Silverstone circuit, further reinforcing this image. This is not Cadillac’s first attempt in the world championship. In 1952 and 1953, the Kurtis Kraft team and Cadillac engines tried to compete for a championship in the Indianapolis 500, but both ended in failure. It’s worth noting how other startups have gotten off to a slow start. It took Red Bull five seasons to win its first victory, while its sister company Minardi, which has a long history, lasted twenty years. Audi has also entered the world championship race in 2026; it didn’t start from scratch but it got an existing company, so it’s kind of a story. Cadillac, on the other hand, started completely from scratch, and its own engines were still three years away. His rivals on the pit wall are Laurent Mekies, who managed Racing Bulls before taking over Red Bull in mid-2025, and James Vowles, head of Williams and former strategy director of Mercedes.

Annie is an automotive writer for GreenyCars. Years around Formula 1 paddocks during her marriage to a racing driver left her with strong opinions about drivers and team bosses, and she now writes about everything from Grand Prix racing to EVs and hybrids.