MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The new Cadillac F1 team officially announced its arrival at a glitzy South Beach extravaganza packed with industry executives and influencers and highlighted by a musical showcase from Janelle Monáe and actor Terry Crews Jr., who shared an anecdote about how he’d never been born had his father not relocated at age 20 to Flint, Michigan, in search of a job with General Motors.
A splashy video ultimately unveiled the Cadillac F1 team logo at a multimillion-dollar party jammed elbow-to-elbow in the Queen Miami Beach venue.
What wasn’t revealed? Cadillac’s car, a bit of a disappointment for those who expected to see all the bells and whistles at the brand launch introduction to F1’s newest team.
No worries promised the leaders of the new team: Cadillac F1 is on pace to be on the grid in 2026.
“We’re building cars, we’ve been in the wind tunnel for a long time,” said Dan Towriss, CEO of TWG Motorsports, the team owner. “Chassis has arrived, we’re continuing to add (personnel) to the team, there are so many work streams that are happening all at once. But I want to make sure everybody understands just how deep the partnership is with General Motors and with Cadillac.”
It was a long road for Cadillac F1 to get to this point. The project started with Michael Andretti, who failed to buy Sauber in his effort to create a true American team that would feature at least one American driver. When he didn’t close the Sauber deal, Andretti petitioned F1 and governing body FIA to expand the field for Andretti Global, which led to the equivalent of an IRS audit during a grueling application process.
F1 denied the application.
Towriss and Cadillac pressed on — they spent the last year saying work on the project “continues on pace” — and when Towriss bought out Andretti late last year, F1 changed course, and the new team was suddenly fast-tracked.
General Motors President Mark Reuss was finally able to attend an F1 race — the Miami Grand Prix over the weekend — in an official capacity.
Cadillac will initially race with Ferrari engines before GM’s power unit is ready for 2029. Reuss said the Cadillac approach is deliberate to have a reliable, fast engine rather than rush one out for next season.
“You have to go slow to go fast,” Reuss said.
Cadillac will have the largest U.S. presence of any F1 team and will operate out of facilities in Fishers, Indiana, as well as in Charlotte, North Carolina. The team also has a satellite facility at Silverstone, England.
