GM’s premium brands enter Field 11th F1 team
General Motors is entering the highly technical and highly competitive Formula One racing series with the newly formed Cadillac Formula One team. General Motors will work with TWG Global to develop a custom F1 powerplant expected to power the hybrid open-wheel vehicle with an estimated power of 850-1,000 horsepower. There are currently 10 teams in Formula One, each with two cars. Cadillac Formula 1 Team will become the first new team to enter the series since 2016, when Haas F1 Team It was the first American team to complete the race since 1986. Cadillac hires veteran race car driver Mario Andretti as team director.
The timetable for entry as a full working team is towards the end of the decade. “Full operational” means that at some point in 2026 and subsequent years, GM will use its own developed chassis, engines (including hybrid units with batteries and regeneration systems) and all other components it has previously produced. Purchase from other approved manufacturers. It has not yet been announced which power unit the Cadillac F1 Team will use when the 2026 season begins, but speculation is that the team will use a Ferrari power unit, which would make it the fourth team to use this engine.
In preparation for the race, Cadillac Formula 1 has been hiring an experienced team responsible for aerodynamics, chassis and component development, software and vehicle dynamics simulation. The team operates out of Fishers, Indiana; Charlotte, North Carolina; Warren, Michigan; and Silverstone, England.
The team is in place
TWG Global is a diversified investment company involved in financial services; renewable energy; arts; ecotourism; agriculture; sports; and media and entertainment. The last two describe the Formula One racing series, which although it is a sport, is truly media and entertainment. In 2024, the series will feature 24 games in 21 countries on five continents. Television viewership for each game is estimated at between 60-70 million. Track attendance for the race weekend totaled more than 100,000.
The driver list and what sponsorship the car will receive have not yet been announced. Sponsorship is a serious consideration. Each vehicle costs about $15 million, plus the cost of replacement due to collisions adds to that cost. But running the cars is only the smallest part of the budget, with team transportation and other expenses running up to $135 million per season. The cost of the latter is capped to level the playing field between teams with more money and those with less.
General Motors has decades of racing history in series through its various divisions such as NASCAR, IMSA, NHRA, IndyCar, Formula E and more, all the way up to private citizen participation General Motors and trucks on local tracks. TWG Global brings experience owning racing teams through its ownership of Andretti Global, Wayne Taylor Racing and Spire Motorsports. In line with the relationship with the United States, the last American F1 champion Mario Andretti will serve as a director on the team’s board of directors.
For those unfamiliar with the closed nature of Formula 1, there is strong opposition from the existing 10 teams to not allowing an 11th team to compete in the series. This is a combination of reasons for not wanting to expand, as many believe 22 cars is too many, but mainly because it means teams will receive less end-of-season bonuses as the funding pool will be diluted.
Clean Fleet Report Fully support GM’s entry into Formula 1 and delighted that Formula 1 management sees this as a positive step for this global racing series.
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Story by John Faulkner. Photo by General Motors.
The post News: Cadillac Formula 1 Announcement appeared first on Clean Fleet Report.
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