Cadillac’s entry into the Formula One World Championship is on-track to have two cars on F1’s racetracks by the 2026 season. Approved by the F1 Commission after Michael Andretti bowed out of the enterprise, General Motors’ Cadillac Formula 1 Team is a partnership between GM and TWG Global, the latter owned by Dan Towriss who took over Andretti Global once Michael stepped aside. Cadillac Formula 1 Team is the first new squad to join F1 since 2016 and will be the 11th team on the exclusive grid.
GM intends for this to be a “full works” team by the close of this decade, producing its own chassis and power units. Until the latter comes to fruition, Cadillac F1 Team will be using Ferrari power units and transmissions in a purpose-built Cadillac chassis.
The objective of running this team is to create innovations that contribute to GM’s push towards advanced electrification, powertrain, software and internal combustion engine technology for consumers worldwide. The launch of this F1 team highlights the Cadillac brand to the diverse audiences attached by F1 and showcases GM’s technology and design capabilities/
Mark Reuss, GM president noted that, “As the pinnacle of motorsports, F1 demands boundary-pushing innovations and excellence. It’s an honor 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. This is a global stage for us to demonstrate GM’s engineering expertise and technology leadership at an entirely new level.
Since GM presented its bid to join F1 in January of 2023, Cadillac Formula 1 Team has assembled an experienced team to work on aerodynamics, chassis and component development, software and vehicle dynamics simulation. The Cadillac F1 Team has established multiple operations, both in the United States and the UK, with operations in Fishers, IN, Charlotte, NC, Warren, MI and Silverstone, England.
The team has also invested in the history of F1 by acknowledging and undertaking this endeavor with Mario Andretti, who earned America’s most recent Formula 1 championship in 1978. The first American to earn an F1 title was Phil Hill, who accomplished the feat in 1961. Andretti is serving as a director on the team’s board.
“My first love was Formula 1 and now – 70 years later – the F1 paddock is still my happy place. I’m absolutely thrilled with Cadillac, Formula 1, Mark Walter and Dan Towriss,” Andretti stated. “To still be involved at this stage of my life – I have to pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming.”
Towriss, CEO of TWG Global’s motorsports businesses added, “We’re excited to partner with General Motors in bringing a dynamic presence to Formula 1. Together, we’re assembling a world-class team that will embody American innovation and deliver unforgettable moments to race fans around the world. We appreciate FIA’s and FOM’s support of our application and their recognition of the value we can bring to the championship,” Towriss said.
It should be noted that TWG operates and owns Andretti Global, Wayne Taylor Racing and Spire Motorsports.
To effect clear channels with the leaders in Formula One Management (FOM) and the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), Cadillac F1 team has secured the services of former F1 technical chief Pat Symonds, whose role is as the executive engineering consultant to Cadillac F1 Team.
Symonds began his consultancy at the start of the year after being hired earlier and needing to effect “gardening leave” for six months. He’s been in the racecar business since the mid-1970s and does, therefore, have currency in the building of cars, as he began his career working together with South African designer Rory Byrne. The duo shared a partnership for several years, including their time at Benetton as seven-time champion Michael Schumacher made his name.
Symonds became Schumacher’s race engineer and also served as the team’s head of research and development. The now-71-year-old Symonds most recently worked at Williams F1 but was suspended from the sport for five years after Renault’s “Crashgate” scandal in 2008 but the ban was later retracted and he was hired by Ross Brawn to serve FIA’s technical team.
We bring up this history because Symonds is currently working to construct the initial Cadillac F1 car which will use both Ferrari’s power unit and transmission as the Cadillac power unit is developed. “We are building the infrastructure to support our challenge at our base in Silverstone,” Symonds said. He believes that “starting with the proverbial ‘clean sheet of paper’ presents far more opportunities than it does challenges.”
He intends, as a consultant, to “make [Cadillac F1 Team] the best team to work for in Formula 1.”
General Motors has wasted no time in assigning a leader for the production of its bespoke power unit, which will go into the purpose-built chassis when full testing is complete. The expectation is that Cadillac’s engines will be in use by the close of the decade. In announcing the formation of GM Performance Power Units LLC (GM PPU) and assigning the role of Chief Executive Officer to Russ O’Blenes, GM has tabbed a more-than 16-year veteran of its racing endeavors.
O’Blenes has been instrumental in most of General Motors’ successful racing engine build-ups over the past decade. In the arena of hybridization for US competition, he has been a leader in producing hybrid engines for IMSA’s WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the NTT INDYCAR SERIES as director of GM’s Motorsports Propulsion and Performance team. His innovations include commercialization of GM’s eCrate initiative for EV enthusiasts.
With more than 30 years engineering for motorsports activities, O’Blenes recognizes that he’s got a lot of work to do in prepping for the next set of regulations that begin in 2026, such as the use of 100 percent sustainable fuels, the adoption of a more robust MGU-K propulsion system that will produce around 350kW, nearly three times the current power output, mandatory 70kg fuel usage during each Grand Prix, together with engine-specific cost caps for the continuing turbocharged 1.6-liter V6 internal combustion engine (ICE).
Dan Towriss, CEO of TWG Motorsports acknowledged the depth of O’Blenes’ racing experience: “His expertise and leadership will be instrumental as we lay the foundation for Cadillac’s Formula 1 journey. Together with Team Principal Graeme Lowdon, they will lead the team in setting new standards of performance and innovation in the sport.”
O’Blenes’ experience has garnered championships for Cadillac’s hybrid IMSA engines and Corvette’s C8.R ICE power mills. “In F1,” Mark Reuss noted, “we’re going to demonstrate GM’s engineering and technology capabilities on a global stage, and Russ is the right choice to lead the Power Unit team that will make it happen.”
As expected, development and testing of the team’s F1 prototype engine technology is already underway. Plans are in place to open a dedicated facility for Performance Power Units LLC near GM’s Charlotte Technical Center next year, the company noted.
“I am truly excited to have the opportunity to build and lead the team that will bring an American-built power unit to the grid,” O’Blenes stated. “GM PPU is currently ramping up its team and is hiring in all areas of the business.”
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