Cadillac is the Formula 1 team America has been waiting for

It was a big weekend for Formula 1 in America, with the world championship racing in Miami and announcing an extension to the circuit’s deal that will see it stay on the calendar until 2041. On the sidelines of the dramatic weekend of racing, American automotive giant General Motors hosted a launch party for its Cadillac F1 team, which could prove to have a longer-lasting impact on F1 in the US. 

Formula 1 is making no secret of its desire to expand its reach in America. On the back of hit Netflix show Drive to Survive, the championship endeavoured to capitalise on the growing interest with new races in the US and a greater effort to woo American audiences. 

Viewership in the US subsequently boomed, and the number of people tuning in to watch races on services like ESPN almost doubled between 2018 and 2024. What’s more, the on-track action and off-track spectacle around races in Miami, Las Vegas and Austin are proving that Formula 1’s fit with America is a natural one. 

However, while fans descend on these grands prix in their thousands, the attending masses still don’t know what it’s like to watch an American team win a home race. This had to change if F1 wanted to prove that it was serious about attracting American motorsport fans. 

Enter American automotive giant General Motors, which is counting down the days until its Cadillac F1 team makes its debut on the grid in 2026.

GM was finally approved for its entry into F1 over the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend, and the side’s activities have steadily ramped up ever since. All manner of job postings have appeared on its site, an engine deal was inked with Ferrari for its inaugural season, and formal approval was finally granted for its 2026 entry earlier this year. 

With work on the team and car rumbling away nicely behind the scenes, GM chose this weekend as its moment to launch the Cadillac squad and capture the hearts of American fans.

Before the team had so much as released the name of a driver it would field or shared a render of its 2026 challenger, Cadillac kicked off its entry into the world of Formula 1 with all the glitz and glam American fans have come to expect from the series.  

At a launch party in Miami on Saturday, the General Motors-owned brand rolled out Michigan-born actor Terry Crews to kick off the festivities, invited American singer and actress Janelle Monae to perform, and began teasing its arrival on the F1 grid. 

The event mirrored the polish that F1 strives for at American races like Las Vegas, and the sheer volume of gleaming chrome details and outfits that Cadillac teased during the event rivalled the Vegas shine as well. 

The launch kicked the conversation about Cadillac’s F1 entry into overdrive, and fans are already engaged. During the event itself, the F1-obsessed crowded around to see who was invited. Some even called out to Cadillac executives to sign Mexican racer Sergio Perez to the team for the 2026 season. 

This is all playing into Cadillac’s hand in developing buzz around the new team. During a roundtable event over the Miami Grand Prix weekend, Dan Towriss – chief executive of TWG Motorsports, the umbrella company that houses Cadillac – went so far as to tell Motorsport.com that he “couldn’t be happier with the response to the Cadillac Formula 1 team.”

It’s reasonable to assume that the momentum behind the team will only increase from here and, over the ensuing months, the reasons for America to get behind the GM outfit will surely rise with it.  

America loves a homegrown hero, especially one as proud of its roots as Cadillac clearly is. What’s more, sports fans across the US will always get behind an underdog, which Cadillac will be when it lines up against giants like Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull in 2026. 

Up until this point, American F1 fans haven’t really had either. Supporting Haas can be an uphill battle with controversy seemingly following the side wherever it goes, and the next-nearest options would be Aston Martin with its Canadian backing or Red Bull thanks to its now-former driver Checo Perez. 

But Cadillac will be hoping to out-American all of those, and team boss Graeme Lowdon acknowledged that “fans would love to see an American driver in an American team” when speaking with Motorsport.com earlier this year. The team boss has since attempted to temper expectations, adding that Cadillac will select its drivers “on merit” rather than the country on their passport. 

Still, the excitement around an American side launching its campaign at an American race is palpable, and all kinds of work is going on behind the scenes at Cadillac’s various outposts across the US and Europe to best prepare it for the coming season.  

The team is now racing to meet major deadlines like the first fire-up of its maiden F1 car, the planned end-of-January shakedown in Barcelona next year, and the 2026 season opener in Australia.

Before then, Cadillac just needs to assemble a team that can unite America’s love of motorsport, design a livery that screams “freedom” and create a car that rumbles like the thunder over Mount Rushmore.

After that, there’ll just be the small task of winning a race or two to secure its lifelong supporters. No biggie, then.