Motor Racing: General Motors to join Formula 1
Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw
It has been announced that agreement has been reached, in principle, for General Motors (GM), the US car giant, to join the Formula 1 Championship in 2026 with a team to race under its luxury Cadillac brand.
GM will join in partnership with the US Group, TWG Global (TWG), and will build its own engine at a later date.
Greg Maffei, the President and CEO of Liberty Media, which hold the commercial rights of F1, in welcoming this move, stated as follows:
“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 the FIA, the Sports Governing Body, in supporting the move, stated as follows:
“All parties, including the FIA, will continue to work together to ensure the process progresses smoothly.”
It is understood that GM and TWG will pay a so-called anti-dilution joining fee of US$450 million (around €428 million), which will be divided between the existing 10 F1 teams to cover their loss of prize money, being divided 11 ways instead of 10.
The teams competing in F1 receive around 63% of the F1 income.
Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw may be contacted by e-mail at ‘
