F1 boss Stefano Domenicali confirms major grid change announcement is 'almost ready'
Daily mirror March 04, 2025 04:39 AM

Stefano Domenicali has hinted that confirmation of an 11th team joining the grid could be imminent.

It was announced last year that an "agreement in principle" had been reached with Cadillac, and parent company , with the American carmaker keen to join the sport. Ever since, it has been considered little more than a formality that 11 teams will feature on the F1 grid from 2026 onwards.

But that came only after a lengthy process which initially saw the project rejected by Formula One Management, despite approval. The application was initially made under the Andretti Global name, with former F1 racer leading the outfit and Cadillac involved as a future engine supplier.

While F1 have been keen to get a huge automotive company like GM involved in the sport, bosses were less open to the idea of Andretti getting on the grid. It was only after Michael Andretti departed as CEO and Dan Towriss took over operations that he impasse was removed.

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And now, with the new season starting with the in less than two weeks' time, has provided a key update on the situation. "There is the formality that is related to the process that [is] almost ready," the Italian former boss said.

"Together with the FIA there has to be an update and whenever this will be ready, it should be not too long, there will be an update to formalise what basically has already happened. So they will be ready to fight against or together with the other teams for next year."

The Cadillac-branded outfit is set to enter the championship in 2026, initially using Ferrari engines. But the long-term plan is to develop and build their own power units and transition into a fully-fledged works team, ideally by 2028.

The team is officially owned and operated by TWG Motorsports, which was formed last month along with holding company TWG Global and is run by Towriss. Cadillac will use facilities and staff already created and hired under the previous regime and, while Michael Andretti is not officially involved, his father and is an ambassador of the team.

Regarding the current state of the project, Domenicali told the sport's investors last week: "Cadillac is preparing the entry - in terms of preparing the season, because it would not be an easy situation for them to be in such a high-tech and evolved sporting platform - they are doing everything in order to show how Cadillac is really involved into the sport.

"GM... want to be a real constructor or a manufacturer that will invest in our sport because they do believe in the technological platform that the F1 can provide to their system. So I'm very, very happy that now this is on board, moving forward, and looking forward to see them on the track together with the other teams to fight for a great championship."

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