The 2025 season has given us a lot of surprises, like Sir Lewis in a Ferrari struggling to find pace, McLaren soaring to the top, Max Verstappen out of the championship contention, and an 11th team on the grid in 2026, and now, as seen at Monza, the man responsible for the fastest ever lap in the history of Formula 1.
Cadillac, along with F1, announced in March, that they would be coming to the grid in 2026!
Cadillac has been the staple for Luxury in America!
Cadillac, the luxury vehicle division of General Motors, was purchased by GM back in 1909. By that time Cadillac was already an established name in the American household.
Cadillac was the first car manufacturer in the world to introduce lighting in an automobile!
Did you know that Cadillac was formed due to a dispute between Henry Ford and his financial partners William Murphy and Lemuel Bowen.
Bowen wanted to liquidate the manufacturing plant and called in Henry Leland, an engineer, who proposed to keep it running, by manufacturing cars with his own single-cylliner engine.
Thus, Cadillac was born! Named after French explorer Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, who had founded Detroit.
Cadillac’s first automobiles were two-seater horseless carriages. Then in 1906, Cadillac became the first ever company to manufacture a fully enclosed car.
Then in 1909, it was purchased by GM, and since then it has become the prestige of GM.
Cadillac’s entry into F1
F1 has been denying entry into its ranks for a long time now. But Cadillac finally wiggled its way through the terms, conditions, regulations, pre-requisites, and so much more, to finally land on the grid next year.
Michael Andretti’s Andretti Global and General Motors announced their wish to join F1. But F1 rejected their bid, but they gave them hope, by saying that they would reconsider of GM manufactured its own engines in F1.
So, in November 2024, Michael Andretti stepped down from his position at Andretti Global, to an advisory role, due to disputes between him and F1 Group’s leadership. TWG Global would then be overtaking operations at Andretti Global, paving the way for Cadilla’s entry into F1.
In the very same month, Cadillac’s entry into F1 as a new Constructor in 2026 was approved. To sign the F1 Concorde Agreement and get its cars on the grid, GM paid a massive sum of $450 million expansion fee.
Cadillac will be using Ferrari engines until their own Works team is set up!
Cadillac have partnered up with Ferrari in 2026 and so on, until their own Works team is set up by GM. In 2026, as the new regulations come in and completely revamp how the current f1 cars look and drive, Cadillac will come in with new Ferrari hybrid 50/50 split engines, relying on 50% battery power and 50% combustion power.
Cadillac had confirmed its drivers for 2026!
Yes! Just last week Cadillac announced by way of social media and a breathtaking announcement trailer with Keanu Reeves, their two drivers for 2026.
Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez are the new drivers for the all–American team!
Bottas and Perez, rivals at the peak of rivalry between Mercedes and RedBull, are now set to be teammates driving the all-new cars in an all-new team next year. What a season its going to be!
Why was Perez and Bottas the best choice for Cadillac?
Cadillac could have picked any young driver from junior Formulae like F2, F3 or even F4. The junior Formulae house multiple talented and very skilled drivers. So why hire Bottas and Perez?
Well, the answer is simple. Experience. Cadillac is a new team, with absolutely zero experience in F1 racing. So, they needed experienced drivers who could help in the development of the car rather than slow it down due to lack of experience.
Sergio Perez has already proven his mettle by winning in a Force India, a car no one believed could be on the podium, let alone on the top step!
And Valtteri Bottas has driven alongside Lewis Hamilton for a long time and that too in the fastest car on the grid at that time. So, he brings with himself a lot of experience in driving and winning.
Both these drivers have a lot of time, skill, and valuable knowledge of how an F1 car performs and feels for the driver under their belt.
Therefore, Sergio and Valtteri are the perfect choice for Cadillac.
What remains to be seen is how well Cadillac performs?
With the new regulations coming in next year, every team will be starting anew, with no idea how their car is going to perform on track. So, Cadillac could very well become the Brawn GP of 2026 and climb to victory in their very first season in F1.
They have recruited good drivers who have been on the podium and the top step multiple times.
All Cadillac needs to do is nail their car, and they will be a force to reckon with as soon they set tires on the track!