Even if Ferrari's engine agreement with a competing manufacturer may seem unnatural, team principal Frédéric Vasseur nuances the context of a customer-supplier relationship.
The future Cadillac F1 team, even if it was named “Andretti Formula Racing LLC” in Ferrari's official communication initially (quickly corrected), will recover the contract to supply V6s from Maranello to Sauber, an agreement broken by the Audi commitment in 2026.
In the meantime, the company which will operate the team in England has been renamed “Cadillac Formula Racing LLC”, while the official name of the team will be “Cadillac F1 Team”.
Ferrari will thus be able to keep two customer teams, both American since Cadillac will be added to the partnership established for nine seasons with the Haas F1 Team, certainly less prestigious than the luxury brand of the GM group and undoubtedly less authentically American.
Collaboration technique
“It's great to see the commitment of another American team, supported by one of the most respected brands in the automotive industry, at a time when Formula 1 is growing in popularity in the United States, welcomes Vasseur. We are therefore delighted to provide the team with our powertrain and gearbox as the basis for this technical collaboration.”
“This means that we will continue to have two customer teams in the championship with all the advantages that this brings in terms of technical development within Ferrari, he adds. Our structure is adapted to this form of collaboration and we intend to establish as good a relationship with this new partner as with Sauber.”
Waiting for a GM engine
“We are delighted to partner with Ferrari as a powertrain and gearbox supplier for our Cadillac team, bringing together two remarkable heritages, indicates Cadillac F1 team principal Graeme Lowdon (left in the photo above).
Choosing the right powertrain partner is crucial, and we have confidence in Ferrari’s passion, excellence and exceptional capabilities.”
The duration of the agreement has not been specified but it could extend over the regulatory period running until 2030, even if there was initially talk of 2028. Officially, however, GM has not guaranteed the production of its own F1 engine before “the end of the decade” (sic) in a factory located in Charlotte, North Carolina, where the V8s which power the Cadillacs in endurance are designed.
