Cadillac is forming an F1 team as the USA’s new love affair with the sport deepens

Americans have taken to the sport in recent years, with a new record set in March for the largest audience of an F1 event in the US.

Formula 1 has reached “an agreement in principle” with General Motors to support adding its Cadillac brand as the sport’s 11th team during the 2026 season.

The announcement comes just months after Andretti Global’s bid to join the grid as a US-based team, which was backed by Cadillac, was rejected. The team, led by the US’ most successful F1 driver, Mario Andretti, had been pushing to join the sport for several years.

Instead of an Andretti-Cadillac team, a GM-Cadillac team has been granted entry, and the statement revealing the addition does not mention Andretti. Andretti said on X that he will be involved in the Cadillac team but not in its day-to-day operations.

Formula 1 did not immediately respond to a request for comment from B-17.

Traditionally, a total of 10 teams make up the F1 grid with a total of 20 drivers.

“With Formula 1’s continued growth plans in the US, we have always believed that welcoming an impressive US brand like GM/Cadillac to the grid and GM as a future power unit supplier could bring additional value and interest to the sport,” Greg Maffei, president and CEO of Liberty Media, the owner of Formula 1, said in a press release on Monday.

Americans have been increasingly exposed to F1 since the sport’s 2017 takeover by Colorado-based Liberty Media. Three races are now held in the country every year: the Miami Grand Prix, the United States Grand Prix in Austin, and the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Netflix’s “Drive to Survive,” a behind-the-scenes documentary about the sport, has also been credited with increasing F1’s popularity in the US.

According to F1, 3.1 million people watched ABC’s coverage of the Miami Grand Prix in March, breaking a record for the sport’s largest US audience.

The previous TV record in the US was 2.6 million viewers, which was set in 2022 for the inaugural Miami Grand Prix.

In 2023, Logan Sargeant became F1’s first full-time American driver in over 15 years, though his team, Williams, dropped him during the 2024 season.