The 2026 Formula 1 season marks the arrival of two ambitious new contenders backed by automotive heavyweights. Audi and General Motors are entering the championship with bold visions of future dominance. While both manufacturers share the ultimate goal of winning world titles, their paths into Formula 1 could hardly be more different.
Audi’s approach has been to acquire and transform an existing operation. The German marque has taken over Sauber, laying the groundwork for a full works entry. The move represents the first official Formula 1 campaign for Audi’s parent company, the Volkswagen Group. Meanwhile, General Motors has opted to build a fresh operation from the ground up. Partnering with US sports investment giant TWG Global, GM has launched a brand-new team under its luxury badge, Cadillac.
Both manufacturers were drawn to Formula 1 by the sport’s revised power-unit regulations introduced in 2026. These rules significantly increase the role of hybrid energy in engine performance, aligning closely with the direction of modern road-car development. For Audi and GM alike, F1 provides not only a competitive challenge but also a marketing platform for electrified performance technology.
Each project aims to become a world champion, though both acknowledge the scale of the challenge. Audi has publicly outlined a five-year plan to reach title contention. Cadillac has been less specific about timelines, but team principal Graeme Lowdon has declared the team’s “limitless ambitions.”
Audi’s structured rebuild
Audi’s Formula 1 effort is led at the track by team principal Jonathan Wheatley, who previously served as sporting director at Red Bull Racing. At the team’s launch, Wheatley emphasized both ambition and realism, stressing that Audi understands its starting point but intends to build the most successful F1 team in history.
The brand’s motorsport pedigree is formidable. Audi dominated endurance racing, winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans 13 times between 1999 and 2016. In rallying, its Quattro all-wheel-drive system revolutionized the sport in the 1980s. Although Audi has never competed in modern Formula 1, its predecessor Auto Union raced in the pre-war European Championship, battling Mercedes-Benz and claiming major victories with legends such as Bernd Rosemeyer and Tazio Nuvolari.
Audi’s modern rivalry with Mercedes has already surfaced off-track, particularly in discussions over engine compression-ratio regulations. However, while Mercedes enters 2026 as a championship favorite, Audi faces a steep climb.
After announcing its F1 entry in 2022, Audi’s early progress was slow. Investment into Sauber’s facilities did not arrive quickly enough, and the team remained near the back of the grid through 2023 and 2024. Leadership upheaval followed. Former CEO Andreas Seidl departed, and ex-Scuderia Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto was appointed to oversee operations at Sauber’s Swiss base in Hinwil and Audi’s engine facility in Neuburg, Germany.
Further restructuring saw Binotto elevated to overall project head, while Wheatley managed trackside operations. The changes began yielding results in 2025. Sauber improved from backmarker status to midfield respectability, and veteran driver Nico Hulkenberg secured a long-awaited podium at the British Grand Prix after 16 years in F1.
For 2026, Hulkenberg remains alongside Brazilian talent Gabriel Bortoleto. Audi debuted its in-house power unit and became the first team to run a 2026-spec car early in pre-season testing. Initial assessments place them in the midfield fight with Haas F1 Team, Alpine F1 Team and RB Formula One Team, possibly ahead of Williams Racing.
Hulkenberg has urged caution, noting that true competitiveness will only become clear once qualifying begins in Melbourne at the Australian Grand Prix. Nevertheless, the early signs suggest Audi’s rebuild is finally gaining traction.
Cadillac’s ground-up challenge
If Audi’s task was to renovate an underperforming team while building an engine program, Cadillac’s mission has been even more complex: constructing an F1 organization from scratch.
The journey began with an effort led by Michael Andretti, whose bid to enter Formula 1 initially met resistance. Though approved by the FIA in 2023, the proposal was rejected by Formula 1’s commercial rights holder in early 2024 on the grounds that it would not sufficiently enhance the championship’s value.
Undeterred, the Andretti parent group restructured the project. Michael Andretti stepped back, while 1978 world champion Mario Andretti remained involved as an ambassador. Cadillac branding became central, and GM committed to building its own power unit targeted for introduction in 2029. In the interim, the team secured a customer engine agreement with Ferrari.
After political negotiations and even scrutiny from the US Department of Justice, Cadillac’s entry was officially confirmed in 2025.
Lowdon, formerly associated with the Virgin/Manor/Marussia F1 operation, was tasked with assembling the team well before approval was guaranteed. Technical leadership came from Nick Chester, previously of Renault and Mercedes’ Formula E program. Together, they built a 600-strong workforce while designing a competitive car.
Cadillac now operates from multiple locations: a major UK base at Silverstone, GM’s technical center in Warren, Michigan, and a motorsport hub in Charlotte, North Carolina. A new headquarters in Fishers, Indiana, is under development and will eventually serve as the primary manufacturing center.
Lowdon has described the organizational challenge as comparable in complexity to the Apollo space program—requiring seamless communication across continents and a flat management structure.
Realism defines Cadillac’s outlook. Executives including TWG chief Dan Towriss have acknowledged the enormity of starting from zero in one of the world’s most competitive sports. Cadillac openly expects to begin at the rear of the grid. Lowdon has remarked that established teams would be furious if a newcomer immediately surpassed them.
Indeed, preseason projections suggest Cadillac may battle at the back, possibly alongside Aston Martin F1 Team. Yet for Cadillac, short-term struggles are anticipated within their long-term strategy.
Two paths, one ambition
Audi and Cadillac represent contrasting philosophies: one modernizing a historic team, the other building anew. Audi’s five-year blueprint emphasizes structured progression toward title contention. Cadillac embraces patience and incremental growth, aiming to evolve into a fully integrated American works powerhouse.
Both projects underline Formula 1’s global appeal and technological prestige. Their journeys may differ, but their ambitions align—world championships remain the ultimate target.
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