Cadillac has been given the provisional go-ahead to join the Formula 1 grid as an 11th team in 2026 — and FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem is ready to take a bow.

Back in February of 2023, Sulayem and the FIA opened up the entry process for potential 11th teams, and the president says he went “to hell and then came back” in order to actually get that 11th team on the grid.

Sulayem “sent to hell” to approve Cadillac F1 bid

In February of 2023, the FIA opened up applications for prospective Formula 1 teams to make a case for why they should become the 11th team on the grid. The organization received four “credible” entries, but only one earned initial acceptance: Andretti Global.

Though the FIA approved Andretti, Formula One Management did not. That meant that the team would ultimately not be allowed to race in the series — though the FOM did admit that it would be interested in Cadillac, the GM subbrand that had signed onto the Andretti entry, joining Formula 1 as a constructor.

Interpersonal squabbles between the FOM and Michael Andretti seemed to contribute to the team’s ultimate rejection; only after Andretti stepped down from his eponymous team did the bid have a chance.

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has now stated that he had to go to hell and back just to see the entry make it through.

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Speaking to Motorsport.com, Sulayem underlined the importance of Cadillac’s participation in the sport, saying, “I was sent to hell and then came back. That’s the bottom line. I was sent to hell.”

His decision to open the floor to potential new F1 teams was not met with much love from the current slate of teams. Because prize funds are pulled from the same pool, the entrance of an 11th team means that existing teams will receive a smaller slice of the pie at the end of the year.

Further, a U.S. Department of Justice probe into Liberty Media didn’t help. A handful of Congresspeople supported the Andretti F1 bid and argued that existing teams vetoing a prospective new team constituted a monopoly.

Sulayem says the FBI were on site at the Las Vegas Grand Prix and that he was happy to speak to them because “I have nothing to hide.”

He continued, “I’m an elected president. So they elected me for a reason, and I was elected based on governance, democracy, and transparency. So we did what the FIA did, and I am proud of what the team did.

“Yes, it went through a lot of process, due process, due diligence, all of that. Then it came to the point where we are hoping that we can overcome all of these difference and get them in a smoother way.

He stated that he ‘respects’ that the FOM has a very different process than the FIA when it comes to evaluating the viability of a new team, and that the provisional acceptance of Cadillac is “a win for motorsport, for Formula 1, for the FIA, for FOM, for the teams, for the fans, and for motorsport in general.”

Further, Sulayem denied that he sees it as a personal win; he reiterated that it is “a success for motorsport in general and sustaining the business.”

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