Toto Wolff says it is a “no brainer” to add a truly “value adding” team to the Formula 1 grid, but wants to ensure the current teams are looked after when GM arrive in F1 2026.

An agreement in principle is in place for General Motors to add an 11th team to Formula 1 in F1 2026 through their Cadillac brand, with the announcement made last month.

Toto Wolff responds to GM entry with Cadillac agreement in place

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

A bid for an Andretti Cadillac F1 team was rejected when it reached Formula One Management [FOM], having originally passed an FIA Expressions of Interest process, with a portion of the rejection letter reading that the sport would look differently on a bid from General Motors itself, Cadillac’s parent company.

That has now taken place under the guidance of new Andretti Global owner Dan Towriss under his TWG Global banner, and while it is currently unclear to what extent previous Andretti staff will be involved in the project, 1978 World Champion Mario Andretti has announced he will serve in a non-executive role on the team’s board.

The current team principals have been against cutting the ‘cake’ in Formula 1 into 11 slices instead of 10, instead looking to grow the cake by adding value if a new team enters the sport.

Wolff believes a GM entry as a constructor and power unit supplier “definitely” meets this criteria, but while he is unsure of the full extent, admits details he has heard surrounding antidilution payments to the current teams and contributing to the future prize fund is “not great” as it stands – though he is not yet in a position to “properly judge.”

“I’m representing a team. I’m a statutory director of the Mercedes Grand Prix team, and I need to represent and do the best for the team,” Wolff explained to media including PlanetF1.com.

“I’ve always said, if a team is accretive, as in value adding, absolutely – because it’s a no brainer.

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“You’re a stakeholder, we’re a team, we like the revenue to grow. We like the audiences to grow.

“Somebody comes in and says, ‘I can do that.’ Welcome, with open arms. I’ve never heard anybody telling me that.

“I’ve never had anybody making the pitch – not that you need to – because the teams have nothing to say in that process.

“It’s the FIA and the commercial rights holder that have to decide, but if you want to go to a party and you’re not invited, at least make the case why you should be sitting on the table.

“So none of that happened, and [it] probably started in a bad place from the get go.

“Now, GM, coming in as a shareholder with its own engine, is accretive, definitely. More, we don’t know.

“We have to see whether what has been said about the structure of the deal, the antidilution payment, the eligibility of participating to the prize fund, when that actually happens, and as it stands, I can’t properly judge as what I’ve heard is not great, and I think the teams deserve respect for what they’ve done over the last God knows [how] many years.”

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