America Joins the Grid: How Cadillac Became Formula 1's Bold New 11th Team for 2026

For years, Formula 1 has been booming in the United States, with new races, packed grandstands and a Netflix-fuelled surge in popularity. Yet one crucial piece was always missing: a genuinely American team on the grid itself. In 2026, that finally changes, as Cadillac roars onto the scene as the sport's brand-new eleventh team.

A rare new arrival

The significance of this move is genuinely hard to overstate. Formula 1 grids very rarely expand, and entirely new teams are an extremely rare sight, which makes the arrival of any fresh outfit a real milestone. Cadillac, a storied brand of the American giant General Motors, now steps into that spotlight as the sport's eleventh team.

This is not some fly-by-night operation, either, and that matters a great deal. The project carries the full weight of General Motors behind it, one of the largest carmakers in the entire world, signalling a serious, long-term commitment to Formula 1 rather than a fleeting and forgettable publicity exercise.

Two veterans lead the charge

When it came to choosing its drivers, Cadillac opted firmly for hard-earned experience over raw youthful potential. The team confirmed a lineup of two seasoned veterans: Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas, a pairing that brings a genuine wealth of top-level racing knowledge to what is, after all, a brand-new squad.

The numbers behind that decision are quite striking. Between them, Pérez and Bottas boast a combined 527 race starts and 16 grand prix victories, an enormous bank of experience that a debuting team will surely lean on very heavily as it tries to find its feet in the most competitive motorsport on earth.

There is a compelling human story to their return, too. Both men had been left on the sidelines after losing their seats, Pérez at Red Bull and Bottas at Kick Sauber, which makes their comeback with Cadillac a genuine second chance at the highest level of the very sport they had seemingly been pushed out of.

There is even a rather nice thread of history connecting the pair. Pérez and Bottas found themselves on opposite sides of the legendary 2021 championship battle, as teammates to Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton respectively, in a title fight that is still widely regarded as one of the greatest the sport has ever produced.

American power, Italian heart

On the technical side, Cadillac is taking a notably pragmatic approach to getting itself started. In the short term, the team will race using Ferrari engines, relying on the proven power units of one of the sport's most iconic manufacturers while it steadily builds up its own capabilities from the ground up.

The long-term ambition, however, is far grander and more striking. General Motors has already committed to designing and building its very own engines out of a dedicated headquarters in the United States by the end of the decade, aiming to become a fully-fledged, self-sufficient force in Formula 1 in its own right.

Legends in the boardroom

The overall credibility of the whole venture is further bolstered by the big names attached to it. The team will begin operations under the leadership of the experienced team principal Graeme Lowden, a widely respected figure with deep roots in the paddock, now tasked with turning lofty ambition into hard on-track reality.

Perhaps most evocative of all, though, is the presence of a true American racing icon. Mario Andretti, the 1978 Formula 1 world champion and one of the most versatile drivers in all of motorsport history, sits on the team's board of directors, lending it both real gravitas and a deep, authentic connection to American racing heritage.

For Formula 1 as a whole, Cadillac's arrival is a genuine landmark moment. It gives the sport's enormous and fast-growing American fanbase a home team to rally behind for the very first time, something that could potentially supercharge its popularity even further in one of its most important and lucrative markets. And while breaking into Formula 1 is brutally difficult, with the might of General Motors, two proven drivers and a genuine legend on its board, Cadillac has announced its arrival not with a whisper, but with a roar.