When Cadillac will open its F1 engine factory
by Ben Vinel · AutosportCharlotte-based power unit plant set to open before Christmas
Cadillac has revealed its Formula 1 engine factory will open on 18 December.
General Motors was approved by the FIA in 2025 as a power unit supplier from the 2029 season onwards, hence the construction of new F1 engine facilities at the manufacturer’s base in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“We're opening our whole engine factory, if you will, in Charlotte, North Carolina on 18 December,” General Motors president Mark Reuss announced in a conference at Autosport Business Exchange in New York. “So that's coming really well.”
General Motors now has another couple of years to design its own power unit, though the timing may be suboptimal – FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has committed to F1 switching back to V8 engines – potentially running on sustainable fuel with a smaller share of electric power – by 2031. In that case, GM’s powertrain would get two seasons in action at best, potentially just one if the switch is brought forward to 2030.
In the meantime, Cadillac is running customer Ferrari power units, and the team’s maiden season has been tricky thus far. It is the only outfit yet to score a point in 2026, and the MAC-26 has qualified slowest of all at the last four rounds.
“You know, we’re not here to finish last, so we’ve got to follow through and build this team, build the powertrain and build the car, like we did in GTP,” Reuss said. “That takes a little more time here, because this is a place where we've never raced. You’ve got to get the right people with the right engineers and the right drivers, and we’ve got to get that process really going, and it's logarithmic, it's not linear.”
Veterans Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas have been bringing invaluable experience in that context, but they have also been recording their worst career results.
“You can't win every race – no one can win every race – so when it happens, when they have a day that is unfortunate, or mistakes were made, they move on from that race and perfect their craft – whether it's with the car or themselves, or their physicality, or whatever that is – and they drive for that perfection,” Reuss said.
“Both of these gentlemen in the race for us do that, and they really understand what it takes and the process. I'm very, very happy that they're patient with us, to be honest; that takes a special person.”
We want to hear from you!
Let us know what you would like to see from us in the future.
- The Autosport.com Team
Read and post comments