GM Paid $450 Million To Join Formula 1, Report Says
Formula 1 ain’t cheap, and we’re not just talking about the tickets to attend a race.
It currently costs around $135 million per year to run a team, and that’s just because the sport put a price cap on it.
Before the restrictions, teams were spending up to $400 million each year for the shot at a championship.
There are currently 10, two-car teams on the grid, but Formula 1 announced this week that General Motors has been approved for an 11th entry starting in 2026.
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It will run under the Cadillac Formula 1 Team brand and will use a GM-designed powertrain starting in 2028.
But getting into Formula 1 isn’t as easy as signing up. New teams have to pay a “dilution fee” to the existing outfits to help offset the new revenue split. The hope is that, in the long run, the newcomer will add value to the sport overall, but the fee works as something of a hedge.
It’s currently set at $200 million, but since General Motors isn’t entering until 2026 when a new contract and car formula goes into effect, it will be paying quite a bit more than that. According to the BBC, the price is $450 million. GM hasn’t commented on the report, nor has it released many other details about the project.
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Among them is what powertrain it will use for the 2026 and 2027 season. Honda, which is returning to the series in 2026 with Aston Martin, and Ferrari are the most likely suppliers. Ferrari-customer Sauber is set to become the Audi factory team in 2026, which would open the door to GM to grab those powertrains for a couple of season.
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GM also hasn’t named any potential drivers, but is understood to want an American in at least one of its cars. There are currently no American drivers in the series after Williams Racing let the underperforming Logan Sargeant go in the middle of this season.
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