How GM Motorsports’ Deep Racing DNA Is Powering the Cadillac Formula 1® Team
General Motors is one of the most broadly active and consistently successful racing organizations in the world. From stock cars and open-wheel racing in North America to endurance racing and touring car championships across multiple continents, GM’s motorsports footprint spans nearly every major discipline in modern competition. That unmatched breadth of experience is now converging on one of the most ambitious projects in the company’s history: the launch of the Cadillac Formula 1® Team for the 2026 season.
For decades, GM brands—most notably Chevrolet and Cadillac—have competed at the highest levels of motorsport. In the United States, Chevrolet is a dominant force in NASCAR’s Cup and Xfinity Series, a perennial contender in the NTT INDYCAR Series, and a proven competitor in IMSA sports car racing. The brand also races in NHRA drag racing, the Best in the Desert off-road truck series, and GT3 competition with Corvette Racing, which competes globally.
Cadillac, meanwhile, has established itself as a top-tier contender in prototype endurance racing. The Cadillac V-Series.R competes at the pinnacle of sports car racing in both the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). That program takes GM engineering and competition expertise to eight countries worldwide and includes one of the most demanding events in motorsport: the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
All of this experience—spanning sprint races, endurance formats, spec series, and development-heavy championships—forms the foundation of GM’s Formula 1® ambitions.
A Knowledge Pipeline Built Through Competition
According to Eric Warren, GM Vice President of Global Motorsports Competition, success across such a wide range of racing categories has been deliberate, not incidental.
“GM is racing and winning in many premier race series worldwide,” Warren says. “In each series, GM Motorsports gains knowledge, and our people are battle-tested and proven on all the skillsets we need.”
Each racing program functions as a learning environment. Engineers and technicians rotate across disciplines, gaining exposure to different vehicle architectures, rule sets, and operational demands. NASCAR teaches the importance of reliability and efficiency under intense competition. IndyCar refines understanding of aerodynamics and chassis balance. Endurance racing pushes teams to master energy management, tire strategy, and long-term durability. Drag racing emphasizes power delivery and control. Off-road competition tests structural integrity and suspension performance under extreme conditions.
Together, these programs form what GM leadership describes as an unmatched training ground.
Across the organization, engineers, designers, mechanics, data scientists, and software developers work on propulsion systems, aerodynamics, vehicle simulation, cooling strategies, braking systems, suspension tuning, electronics, and race operations. Few manufacturers have the opportunity to develop talent across so many motorsports domains simultaneously.
“We have the opportunity for young motorsports engineers to gain experience at a rate and level that we believe is unmatched,” Warren says.
Winning as a Cultural Constant
While technology and experience matter, GM Motorsports leadership emphasizes that culture plays an equally important role. Many organizations talk about a “winning mindset,” but at GM, that mindset is reinforced by consistent results.
In 2025 alone, GM secured championships in NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, IMSA GTD Pro, the Supercars Championship in Australia, the European Le Mans Series, Best in the Desert off-road racing, and NHRA drag racing. Across all categories, GM-affiliated teams won 114 races and captured more than 17 championships globally.
“There’s something different about being part of a winning organization,” Warren explains. “It’s the mentality, it’s the discipline, it’s the refusal to accept mediocrity.”
That mindset—focused on preparation, accountability, and continuous improvement—is now being embedded into the structure of the Cadillac Formula 1® Team. Formula 1® is widely regarded as the most technically demanding motorsport in the world, and success requires not only innovation, but operational excellence at every level.
Technology Transfer: From Race Track to Formula 1®
The Cadillac Formula 1® Team is not starting from scratch. While Formula 1® requires unique tools, processes, and compliance with strict regulations, GM Motorsports already possesses a vast library of technical capabilities that can be adapted to the series.
“When you start in Formula 1®, nobody hands you a toolset,” says Ken Morris, GM Senior Vice President of Product Programs, Product Safety, Integration and Motorsports. “You’ve got to develop all your analysis tools that are used in race preparation and at the track. We have a massive stockpile of skills we can modify for use in Formula 1®.”
Those skills include advanced vehicle modeling, real-time data analysis, race strategy optimization, and software development—areas where GM has invested heavily across its motorsports and production vehicle programs.
If entirely new tools are required, Morris notes, GM’s engineers have a deep base of experience to draw from. That significantly reduces the learning curve associated with entering Formula 1®, especially under today’s cost cap and testing restrictions.
Production Performance Meets Racing Innovation
GM’s Formula 1® effort also benefits from more than a century of high-performance production vehicle development. Modern performance cars like the Chevrolet Corvette and Cadillac’s CT4-V Blackwing and CT5-V Blackwing are engineered using cutting-edge methods that blur the line between road cars and race cars.
These vehicles incorporate advanced aerodynamics, lightweight materials, high-output powertrains, and sophisticated chassis tuning—all areas directly relevant to Formula 1® engineering.
According to Warren, the relationship between GM’s production vehicle teams and motorsports engineers is highly collaborative.
“Production-car and Motorsports engineers are in constant communication,” he says. “Some aerodynamicists work across production and race cars. It’s like a technology transfer in motion.”
One key area of collaboration is aerodynamic simulation. Improving the speed and accuracy of aerodynamic analysis benefits both sides of the organization. Production vehicles gain efficiency and stability, while race teams gain performance insights that can translate directly into lap time.
Simulation: A Competitive Necessity
Simulation has become one of the most critical tools in modern motorsport, particularly in Formula 1®, where regulations strictly limit real-world testing. Teams are allowed only a small number of wind tunnel hours and track tests each season, making virtual development essential.
GM has extensive experience using simulation in production vehicle programs. Virtual development helps engineers manage complexity, test design variations quickly, and reduce development timelines. One notable example is the GMC HUMMER EV, which was developed in roughly half the time typically required for an all-new vehicle platform.
That expertise is directly applicable to Formula 1®.
“Simulation is only valuable if it’s extremely accurate,” Warren says. “In racing, we talk about correlation—how well the simulation matches what we see in the real world.”
Strong correlation allows engineers to trust virtual results, refine designs before physical testing, and maximize the effectiveness of limited on-track sessions.
“If you aren’t good at simulation, you can’t optimize the design before you get to the track,” Warren adds. “Then it’s just trial and error, and you are already starting from behind.”
The Complexity of Tire Modeling
Few areas of vehicle performance are as challenging as tires. Whether on the road or the racetrack, tires are the sole connection between the vehicle and the surface. Acceleration, braking, and cornering all depend on how tires behave under varying conditions.
Despite decades of research, tire modeling remains one of the most complex problems in automotive engineering.
“As different as road cars and race cars may be, everything comes back to the tires,” Warren explains.
With a PhD in aerospace engineering, Warren doesn’t mince words about the difficulty.
“Having experience in rocket science,” he says, “tire modeling is one of the most complex engineering problems in the world.”
Accurately simulating tire behavior requires deep understanding of materials science, physics, temperature effects, and load sensitivity. GM’s long history of vehicle development and racing provides a strong foundation for tackling this challenge in Formula 1®.
A Historic Moment for American Motorsport
When the Cadillac Formula 1® Team lines up on the grid at the Australian Grand Prix in March 2026, it will mark a historic milestone. The team will be the first new Formula 1® entrant in a decade and the first Grand Prix car developed by an American automaker.
More importantly, it will represent the culmination of decades of motorsports investment, innovation, and competitive success across GM’s global racing programs.
“Winning does not come easy, and we don’t take it for granted,” Warren says. “Having the ingredients and understanding of what it takes to win is invaluable.”
For GM Motorsports, Formula 1® is not just a new series—it is the ultimate proving ground for the people, technology, and culture that have defined the organization for generations.
“That’s the real secret sauce of what we’re doing with the Cadillac Formula 1® Team,” Warren concludes.
Source Link:https://news.gm.com/
