Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali says Cadillac will provide an “incredible boost to the ecosystem” of the sport – and he says that an update on formalising the team’s entry for 2026 is due soon.
It was announced in November that the team had reached an agreement in principle with Formula 1 regarding its entry plans.
That came after founder Michael Andretti was distanced from the project, and it was confirmed as a full works GM-backed team under the Cadillac name.
However formal confirmation of the entry has not been forthcoming. There appears to be no real precedent to follow in terms of the timeline and exactly what the next steps are, especially given that the next Concorde Agreement has not been finalised.
The team will use Ferrari power units initially, before eventually switching to its own in-house design.
“We always said that Cadillac is giving and will give an incredible boost to the ecosystem of F1,” said Domenicali when asked why his organisation’s position on the entry changed late last year.
“We were referring to other situations that were handled before. But now the picture is totally different.
“Cadillac is preparing the entry, in terms of preparing the season, because it would not be an easy situation for them to be in such a high-tech and evolved sporting platform, they are doing everything in order to show how Cadillac is really evolving into the sport.
“Now there is the formality that is related to the process that it’s almost ready together with the FIA. There has to be an update. And whenever this will be ready, it should be not too long, there will be a sort of an update to formalise what basically is already happening.
“So they will be ready to fight against or together with the other teams for next year. And that is the evolution that, as you know, GM has taken as a fact that they want to be a real constructor or a manufacturer that will invest in our sport, because they do believe in the technological platform that F1 can provide to their system.
“So very, very happy that now this is on-board moving forward and looking forward to see them on the track together with the other teams to fight for a great championship.”
Domenicali insisted that the arrival of Cadillac has no impact on the debate with the teams over the next Concorde, while stressing that the new entrant will have the same rights as incumbents.
“There’s no impact at all with the current discussion of Concorde Agreement,” he said. “As you know, Concorde is done by two major elements. One is the financial one that is related to the commercialisation and the marketing side of it, that discussion is between us and the teams, and we are in a good position on that.
“The other topic, or the other part of it, is the governance that, of course, we need to work together with the FIA and the teams and on that we are working.
“As you know, there’s no time pressure on that, because we are all working as partners, and we want to find the best solution for the sport. And this is something that we’re going to do, even with one more team together into the future, because of course Cadillac will be part of it and will have a voice, as the others, into the future.
“With regard to the fact that Cadillac will bring a new US ‘branch,’ I think that we can bring opportunities. And I’m totally positive, because the sport is growing in such a magnitude that everyone will exploit the best out of it. And I’m sure that the Cadillac/GM group will benefit from being part of this group.”
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Adam Cooper F1 