While the FIA has already validated the list of engine manufacturers for 2026, a season which will see new regulations come into force, the General Motors group has opened the door to enter the competition from 2027 via its Cadillac brand.
This could be a knockout argument for the Andretti family. While several projects for a new Formula 1 team are being prepared to respond to the call for applications recently launched by the International Automobile Federation (FIA), Michael Andretti has found a strong ally with the General Motors group, whose the Cadillac brand is ready to associate its name with what would be the second American team in the paddock by 2026.
A partnership that would be purely economic since the FIA has already locked the list of engine manufacturers authorized to participate in the championship for the first season seeing the new regulations come into force. Alongside Ferrari, Mercedes, Honda and Alpine, the only new entrants are Audi, which will take control of Sauber, and Red Bull-Ford. However, the situation could change fairly quickly sincea new candidate is considering an arrival in F1 from 2027 and it is… General Motors via Cadillac. While F1 is stopping off in the United States this weekend for the first time this season with the Miami Grand Prix, the executive director of the American group’s competition Eric Warren confided in an interview with the British magazine Autosport.
General Motors, partner to the Andretti #F1 team bid, is evaluating entering as a power unit manufacturer from 2027
Full story ⬇️https://t.co/Bi4p9Qrn96
— Autosport (@autosport) May 4, 2023
Warren: “It would be 2027 at the earliest”
The latter clearly opens the door to the development of an engine for F1 and potentially with the resources internal to the American group. ” General Motors is motivated to be involved in the car and its design, in the whole process. It’s not about rebadging an engine. The interaction between Cadillac and Andretti will be on the entire vehicle, he said of the project set up with the Andretti family. We want to get involved in racing and make sure we are competitive, then study in 2026 what will make the most sense beyond that. We could of course make our own engines. We cannot by regulation, because the 2026 engine manufacturers have been declared, so for us it would be 2027 at the earliest. However, if this project is retained by F1 for a finish on the grid in three years, Andretti will have to find an engine partner for its first season and the name of Alpine often comes up, beyond the regulatory constraint imposing on the engine manufacturer the least present on the grid to provide any team that does not have a partner in the matter. Before all this, it will above all be necessary to convince a paddock mainly opposed to the idea of cutting the cake into more shares.
