TMW: Cadillac's Coming to F1
The Formula 1 grid will expand to 11 teams in 2026 with the addition of General Motors.
The Morning Warmup
Nov. 29, 2024
Today’s Top Stories
1) GM set to join expanded F1 grid in 2026 with Cadillac brand (F1)
The Formula 1 grid will be expanding to 11 teams when the 2026 season gets underway.
Formula 1 announced Monday that it reached an agreement in principle to welcome General Motors to the grid with its Cadillac brand when the new ruleset begins in 2026. It will be ran in partnership with TWG Global, which currently owns and operates Andretti Global, Wayne Taylor Racing and Spire Motorsports.
“As the pinnacle of motorsports, F1 demands boundary-pushing innovation and excellence,” GM president Mark Reuss said in a statement. “It’s an honor for General Motors and Cadillac to join the world’s premier racing series, and we’re committed to competing with passion and integrity to elevate the sport for race fans around the world. This is a global stage for us to demonstrate GM’s engineering expertise and technology leadership at an entirely new level.”
The news follows FIA approval in January 2023 and a lengthy approval process that included controversy tied to Michael Andretti. GM’s entry in F1 initially came under the premise of an Andretti Cadillac entry, but it was rejected for 2026 in January based on a commercial assessment from F1 and its teams. At the time, F1 said it would be open to a potential 2028 entry with GM producing its own power unit.
There have been a few key changes. Michael Andretti stepped down as CEO and chairman of Andretti Global in September. GM is now working toward establishing a full-fledged effort and leading the charge toward its entry instead of taking a backseat to Andretti. In short, positioning GM as a recognizable American manufacturer and new entrant on the grid provided enough value to justify the grid expansion, even with the dilution risks that come with the move.
Not all is lost for the Andretti name, though. Mario Andretti will serve as an ambassador and non-executive director on the team’s board.
RACER reported that outgoing Liberty Media president and CEO Greg Maffei was key to GM’s evolving plans.
“With Formula 1’s continued growth plans in the U.S., we have always believed that welcoming an impressive U.S. brand like GM/Cadillac to the grid and GM as a future power unit supplier could bring additional value and interest to the sport,” Maffei said.
“We credit the leadership of General Motors and their partners with significant progress in their readiness to enter Formula 1. We are excited to move forward with the application process for the GM/Cadillac team to enter the Championship in 2026.”
(Source(s): Chris Medland / RACER)
Notes and sidebars from the creation of F1’s 11th team:
Legend Mario Andretti discussed the factors that kept son Michael from being involved in the project in an interview shared Thursday. (Jonathan Noble & Joey Barnes / Motorsport)
The Athletic’s Luke Smith asked why F1 changed its tune after initially rejecting Andretti.
Race Recaps
Dirt
USAC: It was all Tanner Thorson on Wednesday night. In an evening where three-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch made his Dirt Midget debut but lost power in a heat and failed to escape the B-Main, Thorson led wire-to-wire to claim a 30-lap feature at Bakersfield Speedway. (Richie Murray / USACRacing.com)
News and Notes
NASCAR
The representation for 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports has formally re-filed their preliminary injunction request in district court, requesting a judge grant the companies chartered status during their lawsuit against NASCAR. (Matt Weaver / Sportsnaut)
NASCAR has opposed an expedited process request tied to the request. (Matt Weaver / Sportsnaut)
Toni Breidinger is moving up to the Craftsman Truck Series full-time in 2025, competing in the No. 5 Toyota for TRICON Garage. (Dominik Wilde / RACER)
Supercars champ Will Brown is reportedly working on a two-race NASCAR Cup Series return next year. (Stefan Bartholomaeus / Speedcafe)
Spire Motorsports has made some competition hires early in the 2024-25 offseason. (Matt Weaver / Sportsnaut)
NASCAR has sold out seating for The Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium. (Kelly Crandall / RACER)
IndyCar
Valtteri Bottas has an interest in IndyCar and apparently received an offer for next year - presumably from Juncos Hollinger Racing. But thus far he’s still trying to find an F1 home for 2025. (Ewan Gale / Motorsport)
Fellow F1 hot-seat-sitter Sergio Perez has the opposite opinion. He has no interest in IndyCar and is more likely to make sporadic sports car starts if an F1 return doesn’t work out. (Joey Barnes / Motorsport)
The area of Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course where Simon Pagenaud suffered a major shunt in 2023 has been replaced amid a wave of track alterations. (Marshall Pruett / RACER)
F1
F1’s Italian Grand Prix is staying put. The event will remain at Monza until at least 2031 after an extension of the grand prix deal between the track and series. (Chris Medland / RACER)
The drama continues within the ranks of the FIA, which saw an F2 race director and key steward dismissed this week. (Jonathan Noble / Motorsport)
Senior steward Tim Mayer has spoken out about Mohammed Ben Sulayem after his unexpected sacking from the governing body. (Chris Medland / RACER)
GDPA director George Russell has called for greater clarity over what is happening from the FIA moving forward. (Jonathan Noble / Motorsport)
The news has deepened a pre-existing crisis for the Formula 1 regulator and leader Ben Sulayem (Scott Mitchell-Malm / The Race)
Max Verstappen feels he would have secured the 2024 drivers’ title even quicker in a McLaren. Lando Norris thinks the champ should start doing comedy. (Chris Medland / RACER)
Franco Colapinto is adjusting to life as an F1 driver, including the deletion of his X account as he prepares for fame. (Emily Selleck / Motorsport)
F1’s second race weekend on the Las Vegas Strip seems to have been a success. But drivers hope it will be followed by an off weekend in the future. (Chris Medland / RACER)
Netflix has gone to great efforts to recreate the liar and styling of Ayrton Senna for its upcoming show. (Emily Selleck / Motorsport)
Drivers nearing an exit from F1 teams are often subject to isolation that can create paranoia. (Ben Anderson / The Race)
Next up for F1: Qatar. Here’s a breakdown of the Lusail International Circuit. (Madeline Coleman / The Athletic)
Supercars
Dick Johnson Racing will reunite Brodie Kostecki and Todd Hazelwood for Supercars enduros next year. (Andrew van Leeuwen / Speedcafe)
Nearly five years on from his denial for a Superlicense and wildcard opportunity in 2020, Nathan Herne is searching for an opportunity to make his Supercars debut in 2025. (Stefan Bartholomaeus / Speedcafe)
Sports Cars
Robert Wickens’ march back up the racing ladder is set for another big step more than six years after his life-changing IndyCar crash at Pocono Raceway. He’ll compete for DXDT Racing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship next year. (Marshall Pruett / RACER)
Mick Schumacher is leaving his reserve driver role at Mercedes, but will stay on with Alpine as a factory driver in the FIA World Endurance Championship. (Gary Watkins / Motorsport)
Alpine has made a few changes for its 2025 WEC lineups. (Daily Sportscar)
There are 49 cars on the entry list for this weekend’s Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe finale at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. (Daily Sportscar)
Final 2025 schedules have been finalized for Lamborghini Super Trofeo’s regional tours. (John Dagys / Sportscar365)
The Nurburgring Langstrecken Series will host a special ‘NLS Light’ race in 2025. (Daily Sportscar)
Wayne Taylor Racing’s Jordan Taylor is excited by the upcoming team switch back to Cadillac for 2025. (John Dagys / Sportscar365)
The most successful figure in Japan’s top racing series is an Italian. Ronnie Quintarelli is set to leave Super GT at year’s end, wrapping up a memorable tenure that included four championships. (Rachit Thukral / Motorsport)
Dirt
Kevin Thomas Jr. will join Abacus Racing for the ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix at Ventura Raceway this Saturday. (USACRacing.com)
Cup Series program Joe Gibbs Racing has relaxed its dirt racing rules heading into 2025, opening the door for more Christopher Bell-Kyle Larson duels on dirt next year. (Dustin Long / NBC Sports)
Short Tracks
Here is a look at the NASCAR drivers competing in the upcoming Snowball Derby. (Brandon Paul / FloRacing)
This weekend’s Thanksgiving Classic is filled with a stacked field at Southern National Motorsports Park. (Andy Marquis / Short Track Scene)
Virginia’s Dominion Raceway will replace Late Model Stock Cars with Virginia Racer machines as its Division 1 category next year. (Matt Weaver / Short Track Scene)
Check out this documentary on the story of short track ace Bubba Pollard.
Moto
The Pierer Mobility group announced this week that KTM will enter self-administration to stave off bankruptcy amid significant financial struggles. (Pablo Elizalde / Motorsport)
With his retirement now underway, Aleix Espargaro admits that he had less talent than other MotoGP riders - but claims he worked harder to succeed. (Rachit Thukral & Oriol Puigdemont / Motorsport)
This year saw the surprising title success of a MotoGP satellite team. But there are key reasons to believe it will be a one-off success. (Matt Beer / The Race)
Jack Chambers will return to America to contest SuperMotocross next year with Partzilla PRMX. (Dan Beaver / NBC Sports)
Rally
The FIA has offered insight into the future of the World Rally Championship, with plans to offer a component cost cap and powertrain flexibility in the 2027 ruleset. (Tom Howard / Motorsport)
Champ Thierry Neuville is joining a group of stars competing at the Monza Rally Show in December. (Tom Howard / Motorsport)
Electric Racing
Formula E has secured a fifth brand commitment for its GEN4 era, with Maserati committing to the regulations that will begin in the 2026-27 season. (Dominik Wilde / RACER)
Where does the surprising commitment leave the all-electric tour? (Sam Smith / The Race)
Other
Off-road racing legend Malcolm Smith passed away Tuesday at age 83 after a lengthy battle with Parkinson’s disease. (Marty Fiolka / RACER)
On Track This Week
All Times ET
Friday, Nov. 29
F1
All at Lusail International Circuit
FP1: 8:25 a.m., ESPNU
Sprint Qualifying: 12:25 p.m., ESPNEWS
Sports Cars
All at Jeddah Corniche Circuit
GT4 European Series Race 1: 2:00 p.m., GT World on YouTube
Dirt
USAC Turkey Night Grand Prix (Ventura Raceway): 6:30 p.m., FloRacing
Short Tracks
Turkey Derby Day 1 (Wall Stadium): 2:00 p.m., Racing America
Thanksgiving Classic Day 1 (Southern National Motorsports Park): 8:00 p.m., Racing America
-
Saturday Nov. 30
F1
All at Lusail International Circuit
Sprint Race: 8:25 a.m., ESPN2
Qualifying: 12:55 p.m., ESPNEWS
Sports Cars
All at Jeddah Corniche Circuit
GT4 European Series Race 2: 6:15 a.m., GT World on YouTube
Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe 6 Hours of Jeddah: 9:00 a.m., GT World on YouTube
Dirt
USAC Turkey Night Grand Prix (Ventura Raceway): 6:30 p.m., FloRacing
Short Tracks
Turkey Derby Day 2 (Wall Stadium): 2:00 p.m., Racing America
Thanksgiving Classic Day 2 (Southern National Motorsports Park): 5:00 p.m., Racing America
UARA National Tour Bill Bigley Sr. Memorial 128 (Freedom Factory): 6:45 p.m., Racing America
-
Sunday, Dec. 1
F1
All at Lusail International Circuit
Qatar Grand Prix: 10:55 a.m., ESPN2/F1 TV
Short Tracks
Thanksgiving Classic Day 3 (Southern National Motorsports Park): 12:30 p.m., Racing America
Fast Fact
With Team Penske’s playoff success, Ford drivers have secured the Cup Series championship in each of the past three years. That’s the first time that’s ever happened for the Blue Ovals - well, sort of. Rex White, Ned Jarrett and Joe Weatherly technically drove Ford machines en route to Cup titles from 1960 through 1962, but only combined for eight of 138 starts in Ford machinery along the way. The rest all came with Chevrolet (White/Jarrett) or Pontiac (Weatherly).
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