The excitement is starting to build as Formula 1 prepares itself to welcome a new team for the first time in a decade from 2026.
Cadillac will join the grid as a customer before their partnership with General Motors will see them field their own power unit from 2028.
It’s unknown who their engine supplier will be for both 2026 and 2027, with a previous deal between themselves and Renault now off the table.
They could turn to Ferrari, which Mario Andretti admitted was an option and would keep them competitive in a straight line during their first few years.
Cadillac having a European factory the ‘most important’ F1 ingredient
There’s a lot of promise in having a real American manufacturer share interest in Formula 1, from both a commercial and marketing standpoint.
The sport is growing a lot in the United States, and this will only help it to take off even more – but what about their hopes of competing at the top?
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It’s no secret that most of the best engineers live in Europe, so having a factory there boosts any teams chances – something which Cadillac have already secured.
Marc Surer thinks that it will be an essential step towards enjoying success, as he mentioned to Formel1.de’s YouTube channel.
“Yes, the whole thing is already partly in Europe, at least the base is in Europe. I would take that as the most important prerequisite because if someone builds a car in America, the specialists in Formula 1 are all based in England or around England.
“It would depend on how they do it, I’m excited, so of course, I mean Andretti has already organised a lot and has also hired people, so capacities from Formula 1.
“That’s why I can imagine this will turn into a good one.”
Just how fast will Cadillac be?
It’s total guesswork as to whether or not Cadillac will be competitive during their first Formula 1 season, and the only way to get a feeling is to look back to the past.
Haas were the last new team to enter in 2016, forming a technical partnership with Ferrari which helped them to hit the ground running.
In other words, they were able to purchase lots of components from them, which helped them be competitive during their first season.
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Cadillac isn’t afforded that luxury and will be designing their car themselves – much like the 2010 entries of Virgin, HRT and Lotus.
None of those teams lasted more than six years, and only one of them ever scored points – but that was 15 years ago and the sporting and technical landscapes have changed dramatically since then.
