General Motors Establishes Engine Company For Cadillac’s F1 Entry

General Motors has made the most important move to date in its ambitious Formula 1 venture with the establishment of a dedicated engine company for Cadillac’s entry into the world’s premier motorsport series. The move represents a key development in GM’s plans to have Cadillac positioned as a full-fledged works team in F1 by the end of the decade.

The Formation of GM Performance Power Units LLC

General Motors and TWG Motorsports officially announced the official creation of GM Performance Power Units LLC23, responsible for designing and building engines destined for the Cadillac Formula 1 team, which is supposed to enter the grid in 20263.

Leadership and Expertise

The leader at the helm of this new entity is Russ O’Blenes, named as the CEO of GM Performance Power Units LLC2. He brings over three decades of experience in motorsport to this position, where he currently heads up GM’s Motorsports Propulsion and Performance team. Having a vast background, he spearheaded several successful hybrid engine developments for GM’s road cars, such as the IMSA Cadillac and Corvette C8.

Mark Reuss, GM’s president, was confident when he appointed O’Blenes to the position: “Russ brings vast experience from many championship racing series and has outstanding technical expertise, including spearheading our hybrid IMSA Cadillac and Corvette C8.R engines that are proven winners.” O’Blenes, he added, is the best-suited person to take the mantle of leading the PU team to showcase GM’s engineering and technological capability on the global arena of F1.

Collaboration with TWG Motorsports

The establishment of GM Performance Power Units LLC is in collaboration with General Motors and TWG Motorsports. This appointment, in the words of the Chief Executive Officer of TWG Motorsports-Towriss Dan, is important because “We’re delighted to welcome Russ to this pivotal role, and his expertise and leadership will be key as we make the foundations for Cadillac’s Formula 1 journey”.

That trickles down to team management as well: Graeme Lowdon, the former sporting director at Marussia, was appointed team principal of the Cadillac F1 project this past December. O’Blenes and Lowdon will drive new standards in performance and innovation in the sport, Towriss asserted.

Cadillac’s Road to Formula 1

The road to the entry of Cadillac into F1 has been fraught with challenges and the will to overcome them. A project once envisaged as an alliance between Andretti Global and General Motors initially received resistance expressed by FOM back in January 20243. It is said that what FOM disliked was the one-sided nature of what that team would be getting from entering F1 without giving something to the sport in return.

Overcoming Obstacles

Regardless, it didn’t stop the American contingent from forging ahead. By fall 2024, a turning point finally arrived as Mario Andretti stepped aside from his role as CEO of Andretti Global and stepped in his long-time partner Dan Towriss to handle day-to-day management. Whatever mojo Towriss brought to the helm seemed to be just what was needed to push talks across the finish line for an in-principle agreement for the Cadillac F1 team to make its Formula 1 debut in 20263.

Agreement with Formula 1

In November 2024, Formula 1 announced it had reached an agreement in principle with General Motors to support bringing GM/Cadillac as the 11th team to the Formula 1 grid in 2025. This decision came after ongoing dialogue between Formula 1 and General Motors, along with its partners at TWG Global, regarding the viability of the entry.

Liberty Media President and Chief Executive Officer Greg Maffei pointed out the value potential that will be brought in by GM/Cadillac with more ambitious development of Formula 1 in the United States but expressed equally firm conviction: F1 President Stefano Domenicali: “General Motors’ and Cadillac’s commitment to this project is an important and positive step in the evolution of our sport.”

The Road to a Full Works Team

The ultimate goal of General Motors is to position Cadillac as a “full-works” Formula 1 team that can build both F1 cars and power units toward the end of the decade. This will be an ambitious undertaking with a multi-phase strategy in terms of engine development and team operations.

Initial Partnership with Ferrari

For its first season in 2026, Cadillac has signed a deal with Ferrari for the supply of both power units and gearboxes. This will be a strategic partnership that will give the team the opportunity to race while developing their in-house engine technology.

Proprietary Development of Engine Technologies

Already, GM has begun testing prototype F1 engine technologies at its motorsport technical center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The special facility for the F1 engine project is scheduled to open in 2026 and will be located near GM’s Technical Center in Charlotte.

O’Blenes also seemed pretty enthusiastic about this project, and as he explained: “I am really excited to have the opportunity to build and lead the team that will bring an American-built F1 power unit to the grid. GM PPU is currently ramping up its team and is hiring in all areas of the business.

Impact on the Formula 1 Landscape

Cadillac’s entry into Formula 1 is a big shift in the sport, from a competition perspective, most of all from the involvement of the manufacturer.

New Manufacturers Entering F1

Cadillac/GM is the third major carmaker entering F1, with Ford and Audi on the back of the new engine regulations that will hit in 20261. Ford has paired with Red Bull, while Audi is reported to establish a factory team after buying the Swiss-based Sauber.

Changes in Engine Suppliers

The arrival of these two new manufacturers does not come at a time for stability among its current suppliers as well. Where Mercedes, Ferrari, and Honda will retain their status pre-2025, Renault—parent company of Alpine—will remove itself from their F1 engine program after the ’25 season¹, with its Alpine team then moving to client Mercedes engines.

Engine Regulations 2026

Ultimately, it might be said that new regulations for 2026 had a very profound impact on F1 powertrains: to increase the percentage of current contribution by the hybrid component to around 20% by approximately 50% in 1.5-liter V6 turbo engines and make carbon-neutral sustainable fuels mandatory in Formula 1 competition.

Implications for General Motors and Cadillac

The fact that General Motors has taken the bold step to invest in Formula 1 through Cadillac makes it not only a business move but a strategic one with wide implications for the company and the Cadillac brand.

Technological Innovation and Transfer

Formula 1 participation is expected to spur innovation at General Motors. The company hopes that advancements invented for F1 will trickle down to its wider initiatives in transportation technology. These may range from advanced electrification to powertrain development, software engineering, and even internal combustion engine technology.

International Brand Exposure

The global platform of Formula 1 represents a unique opportunity to expose the Cadillac brand to an international audience. This is presumably showcasing the technological and design capabilities of GM to the world’s attention with the objective of reinforcing the positioning of Cadillac in the luxury automobile category.

American Representation in F1

The Cadillac entry will be highly symbolic, too, as it will be the first new team since 2016. Being an American brand, its inclusion into F1 corresponds to the series’ strategy of increasing its presence in the United States and can attract a wider audience from that part of the world.

Challenges and Opportunities

With that comes a significant challenge and opportunity: the establishment of GM Performance Power Units LLC, in which Cadillac has declared plans for a Formula 1 entry.

Technical Challenges

Building a competitive Formula 1 engine from scratch is a daunting task given the highly evolved and specialized nature of the sport. To this end, one of the things that will be most important is quickly developing expertise in those areas of F1-specific powertrain areas like energy recovery systems and high-performance hybrid technologies.

Financial Investment

The involvement in Formula 1 requires a lot of financial investment. Not only the engine development but also overall team operations, infrastructure, and continuous research and development will need considerable investment by GM.

Competition with Established Teams

Coming in as a new team, Cadillac will be facing stiff competition from long-serving F1 constructors that have had decades of experience in the sport. Building a competitive package that can challenge for points and podiums will likely take several seasons of development and refinement.

Regulatory Compliance

The complex and ever-changing regulatory environment in Formula 1 will demand that adaptation be made. The team has to ensure compliance with both technical and sporting regulations, further faced with segregation in the political environment of the sport.

Innovation Opportunities

Despite these challenges, involvement in F1 offers GM an unparalleled means to stretch the boundaries of automotive technology. The extreme conditions in F1 races may be a good proving ground for innovations that eventually may be applied to consumer vehicles.

Brand Enhancement

Success within F1 would really elevate the Cadillac brand globally, with other manufacturers using their competitiveness to keep awareness high. The aftereffects will tend to increase road car sales of Cadillac and elevate brand perceptions overall.

Talent Attraction

F1 involvement could be of help to GM in luring top engineering and technical talent, since the sport is considered by many to be the pinnacle of motorsport technology and innovation.

Conclusion

The establishment of GM Performance Power Units LLC for Cadillac’s Formula 1 entry is a bold step into the world’s most prestigious series in motorsport. Besides being a continuation of GM’s commitment to technical innovation, this will make Cadillac more internationally known.

From user of customer engines to full-works team is a long, heavy investment journey, both in terms of financial and human resources. Rewards could be huge: technological advancement, brand enhancement, and global market positioning.

With Formula 1 still evolving—most notably with the new engine formula coming in 2026—Cadillac is arriving pretty much at exactly the right time. The effort will only pay off when GM can harness as much of its broad automotive experience while learning the ropes of Formula 1 racing quickly.

The world of motorsport will be keenly watching as Cadillac prepares for its entry onto the F1 grid, likely to change the competitive dynamics and bring a new American flavor into this highly global sport. It will be intriguing to see how GM’s expertise in automotive engineering translates into the high-pressure, high-performance world of Formula 1 and what kind of innovations emerge from this ambitious undertaking.