General Motors to Join Ford on Formula One Circuit

Surging worldwide interest in Formula One, long considered the apex of motor sports, is prompting Ford and General Motors to move forward with plans for supporting F1 racing teams.

The interest in F1 reaches into the highest levels of both Ford and GM, which is critical since the cost of supporting a racing team can balloon quickly.

“This is the start of a thrilling new chapter in Ford’s motorsports story that began when my great-grandfather won a race that helped launch our company,” says Bill Ford, the company’s executive chairman.

“Ford, alongside world champions, Oracle Red Bull Racing, is returning to the pinnacle of the sport, bringing Ford’s long tradition of innovation, sustainability and electrification to one of the world’s most visible stages,” he says.

Starting in 2023, Ford and Red Bull Powertrains will co-develop a hybrid power unit that will include a 350-kW electric motor and a new combustion engine able to accept fully sustainable fuels.

Red Bull Ford will provide the power units for both the Oracle Red Bull Racing and Scuderia AlphaTauri teams from 2026 to at least 2030.

“Ford’s return to Formula One with Red Bull Racing is all about where we are going as a company – increasingly electric, software-defined, modern vehicles and experiences,” says Ford President and CEO Jim Farley.

In 2026, Ford says it will be the only manufacturer to be competing in racing disciplines from grassroots motorsports to F1, comprising WEC and IMSA including Le Mans 24 Hours with Mustang GT3; WRC with the M-Sport Ford Puma Hybrid Rally1; Baja 1000 with Ranger Raptor and Bronco; and NASCAR, NHRA and Supercars with Mustang, Farley notes.

Across town, GM is teaming up with Andretti Global to compete in the FIA Formula One World Championship. GM will be represented by the Cadillac brand (pictured, below), and the Andretti Cadillac team will be based in the U.S. with a support facility in the U.K. 

Cadillac F1 screenshot

Unlike Ford, which helped bring F1 racing to the streets of Detroit in the early 1980s, GM’s approach to F1 is a first for the company.

But GM President Mark Reuss, like Farley a racing buff, notes: “Cadillac and F1 both have growing global appeal. Our brand has a motorsports pedigree that’s more than a century in the making, and we would be proud to have the opportunity to bring our distinct American innovation and design to F1.”

F1 has seen consistent growth globally and most recently in the U.S. with 2023 races in Austin, Miami and Las Vegas. The Andretti Cadillac team plans to submit an Expression of Interest when FIA opens the formal process. If selected, the team will seek to compete as soon as is practical with at least one American driver, according to Michael Andretti, Andretti Global CEO. 

Other manufacturers are responding to the growing fan interest.

Honda, long an F1 mainstay, had announced plans to withdraw from the series. However, it now says it has reversed course and will be expanding its support for teams on the F1 circuit.

Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz says it is preparing to bring on new partners to raise the visibility of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One team (pictured, below) as it gets ready for 2023 racing season.

Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 screenshot

A collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies will leverage the power of Snapdragon, Qualcomm’s consumer brand, which powers some of the world's premium smartphones, gaming and XR devices, connected cars, PCs and wearables.

“Innovation is core to our business,” says Toto Wolff, CEO of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One team. “With the Snapdragon brand, we have the perfect partner to innovate and transform.”