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US car giant, General Motors, has secured a deal ‘in principle’ to enter Formula One with its Cadillac brand next year.

According to a statement issued on Monday, GM and its partner, the US business TWG Global, have agreed to name a new team after GM’s premium Cadillac brand, and to create its very own F1 engine “at a later time”.

Senior sources in F1 have told BBC Sport that GM and TWG will pay an ‘anti-dilution fee’ of $450m (R8.1 billion) to secure the entry.

This exceeds the $200 million (R3.6 billion) mandated by the current F1 regulations, although the contracts between the teams, F1 and the FIA expire after 2025 and are being renegotiated for 2026.

This fee will be split between the existing 10 teams as compensation for their loss of prize money as a result of F1’s income now being split 11 ways instead of just 10. The teams receive in the region of 63% of F1’s income between them.

Greg Maffei, president and chief executive officer of F1 commercial rights holder Liberty Media, said: “With Formula 1’s continued growth plans in the US, we have always believed that welcoming an impressive US brand like GM/Cadillac to the grid and GM as a future power unit supplier could bring additional value and interest to the sport.”

Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the president of F1’s governing body the FIA, said: “General Motors is a huge global brand and powerhouse in the OEM (original equipment manufacturer) world and is working with impressive partners.

“I am fully supportive of the efforts made by the FIA, Formula 1, GM and the team to maintain dialogue and work towards this outcome of an agreement in principle to progress this application to bring a GM/Cadillac branded team onto the grid for the 2026 FIA Formula One World Championship.

“All parties, including the FIA, will continue to work together to ensure the process progresses smoothly.”

The Cadillac team will now need to buy a customer engine from an existing supplier to plug the gap before its own engine is finished, which is not expected to be before 2028.

 

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The new Cadillac entry is a modification of Andretti’s plan, which was rejected by F1 in January. F1 stated at the time that it did not feel the Andretti idea, which was developed in collaboration with Cadillac, would bring value to the sport.

The current amended proposal is considered different because GM will be participating as a team owner.

“As the pinnacle of motorsports, F1 demands boundary-pushing innovation and excellence. It’s an honour for General Motors and Cadillac to join the world’s premier racing series, and we’re committed to competing with passion and integrity to elevate the sport for race fans around the world.”

We never thought we’d see the day that a caddy took part in Formula One, but Elvis would surely have approved. Let’s see what they can bring to the track.

[source:bbc]