Cadillac is officially joining the Formula 1 grid in 2026.
After years of speculation and resistance, F1 is expanding to 11 teams for the first time since 2016. This matters more than most people realize.
I’ve been saying Cadillac was a lock for 2026, and here we are. But the bigger story isn’t about one team getting approved.
It’s about what grid expansion means for the sport’s future.
Why Expansion Actually Matters
More teams mean more opportunities. That’s the core of why I support grid expansion.
Twenty-four cars instead of twenty means more seats for drivers who deserve a shot. More sponsors getting involved. More manufacturers considering F1 as a viable investment.
The sport has been operating at artificial scarcity for too long. Ten teams worked when F1 was struggling financially, but that’s not the reality anymore.
Team valuations have jumped 44% in the past two years. Every F1 team is now worth over a billion dollars. Ferrari leads at $4.78 billion, Mercedes at $3.94 billion.
Five years ago, you could buy into F1 for roughly $100 million. Today it’s ten times that amount.
The financial health of the sport makes the case for expansion obvious. Yet existing teams fought it tooth and nail.
The Self-Interest Problem
Let’s be clear about why teams resisted Cadillac’s entry. Self-interest, plain and simple.
The new anti-dilution fee is $450 million, split equally among the ten existing teams. That’s $45 million per team just for allowing someone new to join.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff still complained it wasn’t enough. This from a team with a 30-35% profit margin.
Eighty percent of F1 teams turned a profit last year. The old narrative about F1 being a money pit is dead.
Teams aren’t worried about financial viability. They’re worried about sharing the prize money with more competitors.
That concern becomes even less valid when you look at how much the sport has grown. More teams could actually increase the overall pot, not just divide it into smaller slices.
What I’d Rather See
Here’s where my view diverges from Liberty Media’s strategy. I’d rather see more teams and fewer races than what we have now.
The current calendar is inflated to 24 races. Each individual race means less than it used to.
More importantly, the strain on team personnel is getting excessive. If you travel to every race, you’re logging close to 80,000 miles in the air annually.
Kimi Raikkonen warned this would burn out a lot of people. He was right.
The human cost of calendar expansion affects teams far more than adding an 11th or 12th competitor. Triple-headers strain families and lead to fewer people willing to make the sacrifices required for F1.
Adding teams creates opportunities without adding that burden. It’s the smarter path to growth.
What 24 Cars Actually Changes
So what does a bigger grid mean for fans? More cars, more drivers, more storylines to follow.
Qualifying becomes more competitive. The battle for Q3 gets tighter. Mid-field racing gets more interesting when there are more mid-field teams.
TV coverage benefits from having more teams with different strategies and tire choices playing out simultaneously. More data points make the race more dynamic.
For fans at the track, a larger grid means more action in every session. More variety in liveries and team identities.
The sport becomes richer without fundamentally changing what makes F1 compelling.
Beyond Cadillac
Cadillac brings GM’s backing and a commitment to building their own power unit by 2029. Until then, they’ll run Ferrari engines.
That manufacturer involvement was key to getting approval. F1 wanted guarantees about long-term commitment, not just another customer team.
But what about a 12th team? That’s where things get speculative.
Any new entrant would need to prove viability to both the FIA and FOM. They’d need facilities, personnel, funding, and a clear technical plan.
The next team is more likely to have Middle Eastern or East Asian backing than American ties. That’s where the money and interest are concentrated right now.
Unless Roger Penske or Chip Ganassi decide to enter F1, American involvement beyond Cadillac looks unlikely. Ford is already partnered with Red Bull. Chrysler is part of Stellantis, which owns Ferrari.
The Timeline Ahead
I think we’ll see a 12th team granted entry by 2028 or 2030, assuming the sport continues showing strong financials and growing popularity.
That’s a long-term project. The lead time to assemble everything needed for a competitive F1 team is substantial.
Cadillac had the advantage of already having facilities, signed drivers, and development programs in place. Over 300 people working across Indianapolis, Charlotte, Warren, and Silverstone.
Any new team would need to build that infrastructure from scratch or acquire it.
The Reality Check
Here’s what keeps me from being completely confident about grid expansion beyond Cadillac.
Global stability matters more than F1’s internal dynamics. Economic collapse or widespread armed conflict could derail everything.
The war in Ukraine is the biggest European conflict since World War II. If it expands to involve more Eastern European nations, the international economy suffers.
China’s economic health matters too. Demographic challenges and trade tensions could slow growth significantly.
F1 teams remember 2008 and COVID. Those twin crises left an impression. Manufacturers fled during the financial crisis. The pandemic created shocks nobody anticipated.
Institutional memory makes stakeholders cautious, even when current conditions look favorable.
That said, Cadillac joining in 2026 is a lock. The approval is done. The team is building. The drivers are signed.
A 12th team remains speculative, but the path is clearer now than it’s been in a decade.
What This Means for F1
Grid expansion represents F1 choosing growth over exclusivity. That’s the right call.
The sport benefits from more opportunities for drivers, teams, and sponsors. The competitive landscape gets richer. The fan experience improves.
Financial concerns from existing teams are overblown. The data proves F1 is healthier than ever.
Calendar bloat is the real problem, not grid size. Adding teams without adding races would serve the sport better than the current trajectory.
Cadillac’s entry proves the barriers can be overcome when the right combination of backing, commitment, and timing aligns.
The question now isn’t whether F1 can handle more teams. It’s whether the sport will prioritize the right kind of growth moving forward.
I’m optimistic, but realistic. The financial case is solid. The human case for fewer races is strong. The geopolitical wildcards remain.
But for the first time in years, F1’s grid is growing. That’s worth celebrating, even as we push for smarter expansion strategies ahead.
