General Motors has announced that it will be developing and building a Formula 1 power unit for the potential Andretti Cadillac entry. The automaker has formally registered this status with the FIA, F1’s governing body. Several F1 team bosses had previously stated that GM’s participation would just be a branding exercise and should be a reason to reject Andretti’s bid to join the world championship.
The 2028 F1 season is slated to be the first to feature Cadillac’s power units in competition. However, Andretti Global has yet to reach an agreement to join the grid with Formula One Management, the series’ commercial rights holder. Andretti’s application was the only bid approved by the FIA, but it still faces stiff opposition from the ten existing teams.
On the announcement, GM President Mark Reuss said in a release:
“We are thrilled that our new Andretti Cadillac F1 entry will be powered by a GM power unit. With our deep engineering and racing expertise, we’re confident we’ll develop a successful power unit for the series, and position Andretti Cadillac as a true works team. We will run with the very best, at the highest levels, with passion and integrity that will help elevate the sport for race fans around the world.”
If Andretti joins F1, the American team will compete with another power unit branded as a Cadillac engine. Michael Andretti has dismissed the disparaging comments about the transitional period. He told Forbes, “It would not be a badged engine, because there would be intellectual property from Cadillac in that engine, so that is not a badged engine.”
With a new power unit formula being introduced in 2026, the other manufacturers will have a two-season head start to put race miles on their engines and gather crucial data for further development.