Cadillac Strengthens its F1 Bid, Promising to Build its Own Engines

As Cadillac tries to reestablish its worldwide reputation as a luxury supercar company, it is hoping to use Formula 1 as a global advertising platform. Today, GM announced that Cadillac will start supplying engines to Formula 1 starting in the 2028 season. The Andretti Cadillac F1 race car will have a Cadillac engine starting in 2028. As I first reported last January, Andretti and Cadillac are teaming up to start their own F1 team with hopes of racing as soon as 2026. The announcement comes just ahead of the first F1 race to be held in Las Vegas. There are also F1 races in Miami and Austin.

How Building and Supplying Engines Helps Their Chances

Last month, the FIA approved Andretti’s Expression of Interest application for Andretti Cadillac to race in the FIA Formula One World Championship. Even though the Andretti Cadillac team has been approved by the FIA board, there are still some hurdles. Not all of the other teams are thrilled with the idea of having to split revenues with another team. Cadillac has made it clear that it only wants to proceed partnered with Michael Andretti. Andretti has been trying to get into F1 for the last couple of years. Cadillac competes in other race series and has done extremely well but F1 is the most prestigious racing series globally.

“We are thrilled that our new Andretti Cadillac F1 entry will be powered by a GM power unit,” said GM President Mark Reuss. “With our deep engineering and racing expertise, we’re confident we’ll develop a successful power unit for the series, and position Andretti Cadillac as a true works team. We will run with the very best, at the highest levels, with passion and integrity that will help elevate the sport for race fans around the world.”

The Andretti Cadillac team would be based in the U.S. with a support facility in the U.K. Andretti is building a huge racing facility in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Cadillac engineering could come from the GM Technical Center in Warren, Michigan. GM also has the Powertrain Performance and Racing Center in Pontiac, Michigan, and a brand new Charlotte Technical Center in North Carolina. That facility was built last year specifically to expand GM’s performance and racing capabilities.

Racing Technology is Often Used in Future Models

GM’s development and testing of prototype technology is already underway. Engineering a F1 power unit will advance GM’s expertise in areas including electrification, hybrid technology, sustainable fuels, high efficiency internal combustion engines, advanced controls and software systems.

For more than a century, racing has been a testing grounds for GM and Cadillac to transfer knowledge and technology between race cars and production vehicles. Cadillac’s V-Series performance vehicles are celebrating their 20th anniversary. The V-Series proudly uses race technology to perfect the high-horsepower performance.

Cadillac Racing Had Another Successful Year

With a long history of racing success, Cadillac most recently developed the 5.5L DOHC V-8 powertrain used in the 2023 IMSA and WEC seasons. With this powertrain, Cadillac Racing secured a podium finish at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and swept top championship honors for the inaugural IMSA Grand Touring Prototype season.

Cadillac Photo

Mary Conway is a professional automotive journalist and has decades of experience specializing in automotive news analysis. She covered the Detroit Three for more than twenty years for the ABC affiliate, in Detroit. Her affection for the Motor City comes naturally. Her father ran a gas station while Mary was growing up, in Wisconsin.

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