Last year, General Motors finally received approval to field a Cadillac Formula 1 team in conjunction with Andretti's parent company Global for 2026 — but the real news will come later in the decade. Indeed, the company also plans to manufacture its own F1 engines and hybrid systems, a process that officially begins with the creation of GM Performance Power Units, LLC.
This new company, announced this Thursday and founded in partnership with Cadillac and TWG Motorsports, Andretti's parent company, will be based in a dedicated facility in Charlotte, North Carolina, which is expected to open later this year. Since Haas F1 does not make its own engines and Ford's alliance with Red Bull is limited only to hybrid systems, this Charlotte company will be the sole American engine supplier on the F1 grid.
Russ O'Blenes, a GM veteran with 30 years of experience, will lead this program. He recently worked on the 5.5-liter V-8 used in Cadillac's LMDh model — the one that starts with a roar every time you exit the pits. Prior to that, he helped develop the flat-angle crankshaft LT6.R engine in the Corvette C8.R, which shared features with the LT6 in the C8-gen Z06 model. Now the man behind GM's most renowned modern racing engines will turn his attention to F1.
GM initially announced its plans to build F1 powertrains in November 2023, when the upcoming team was still just an Andretti-led proposal. At that time, the brand was targeting a 2028 launch of its own engines. Today's announcement changes that target slightly, avoiding the year 2028 and instead stating that the program plans to become “a complete operation” 'by the end of the decade. This could mean a first engine from GM Performance Power Units in 2029.
In the meantime, the Cadillac program will use Ferrari engines. The first Cadillac cars equipped with Ferrari engines will be presented in 2026, and the brand specifies that this arrangement will continue “until GM engines are approved for competition. »
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