Top 2 Reasons Cadillac’s F1 Team Will DOMINATE in 2026

# Why Cadillac F1 Will Win In 2026

$450 million entry fee. Ferrari engines. Two legendary “second drivers” who are done playing support. Cadillac isn’t entering F1 to participate – they’re entering to dominate.

## What You’ll Learn:
✅ Why most new F1 teams fail within 3 years
✅ The Brawn GP blueprint Cadillac is following
✅ How 2026 regulations reset the entire grid
✅ Bottas & Perez: 16 wins, 106 podiums, zero excuses
✅ The General Motors money advantage
✅ Maximum wind tunnel time as a new team
✅ Ferrari power units: The game-changing partnership

## The Perfect Storm:

New teams crash because they lack money, experience, or timing. Cadillac has all three.

**The Drivers:** Valtteri Bottas (10 wins, 67 podiums, 5 Constructor titles with Mercedes) and Sergio Perez (6 wins, 39 podiums, delivered Max’s first title in 2021). Both spent careers making others look good. Now it’s their turn.

**The Timing:** 2026 regulation changes level the playing field. Everyone starts from zero. Cadillac gets maximum development time while established teams are distracted with 2025.

**The Money:** General Motors backing means unlimited resources. Unlike Brawn GP who ran out of cash mid-season, Cadillac won’t have that problem.

**The Blueprint:** Four bases (3 in US + Silverstone), experienced leadership (Graeme Lowdon, Rob White, Pat Symonds), and Ferrari engines. This is how you enter F1 properly.

History shows regulation resets create new champions. Brawn GP proved it in 2009. Could Cadillac be next?

Drop a comment: Is this the next Brawn GP fairy tale or another HRT disaster? Can Bottas finally win his first championship?

**Fun fact:** Bottas was a Finnish military sniper – check out that video!

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**Coming Next:** Why Max Verstappen Is The GOAT And The Rest Of The Grid Looks Stupid

#CadillacF1 #Formula1 #F1 #ValtteriBottas #SergioPerez #F12026 #BrawnGP

So much speculation about who’s going to be Cadillac’s two drivers, right? Well, we have the answer, ladies and gentlemen. It’s exclusively. They’re right here. Here are the drivers. They are sixtime Grand Prix race winner over 14 seasons Czecho Perez and 11time Grand Prix winner, 12 seasons Vali Bosas. Welcome. Perez on the way down to turn four. Surely it will be the outside line. Does he have the momentum to move ahead? He does. And this just on the line Bas gets second. You’ve done it, Pete. Cadillac won’t just be another Formula 1 team. They are looking to dominate. They’ve got the cash, the drivers, and now possibly even the greatest team principal. But how can one team with no experience win the championship in 2026? Let’s face it, being a new team on the Formula 1 grid is not easy. Teams like HRT, Lotus, and Virgin have all come. Yet just a few years later, they all threw in the towel, choosing rather to leave the sport than continue wasting money. This hasn’t stopped new teams like Cadillac from trying their luck in the most competitive motorsport event on the planet. Only a handful of teams have managed to break this, pushing on to be recognized as competitive. One of them is none other than Toyota, which despite its withdrawal from the sport in 2009, has managed to show the world that it could possibly be competitive. During their time at the pinnacle of motorsport, the team got 13 podiums, even finishing as high as fourth place in the constructor’s standings. Yet, the 2008 global financial crisis and inability to consistently remain in the top four would lead to the team finally withdrawing from the sport in 2009. Then there is the one-hit wonder known as Brawn GP. Brawn might not have been a new team to the grid, but taking over from Honda at the end of 2008, it didn’t really seem like they would be truly competitive, especially with the likes of McLaren, Red Bull, and Ferrari dominating. Brawn went on to not only win, but also dominate the 2009 Formula 1 season. But this didn’t come without its problems. Like many new F1 teams, money is always a massive problem. Brawn had to sell the team at the end of 2009 where they’d be taken over by Mercedes, a massive company with lots of financial backing and also a big history in the sport. Cadillac doesn’t have the history, but they certainly have the funding, but I’ll get to that in a second. Let’s first have a look at why most new F1 teams fail to launch. There are a handful of reasons that Formula 1 teams don’t make it on the grid. One of the most important reasons I have just mentioned is that of funding. You see, F1 is an expensive sport with each car reportedly costing anywhere between $16 and $20 million each. This includes at least three engines, a few gearboxes, and electrical units. Aside from the core components that make the car drive, the next big expense is usually upgrade packages such as wings and other parts that are brought during the season. This all forms part of the $135 million cost cap introduced in 2021, which basically means that most teams will spend at least this amount if they are to be competitive during a season. Smaller teams such as Har regularly find themselves spending about $15 million less than the cost cap, which comes from a lack of funding, and one of the main reasons the team is not fighting at the head of the field. On top of these car costs, there are also major expenses which include the driver and staff salaries, a factory to run all the tests or build new car parts, and marketing, which is usually done by a merchandise team. But the big problem with all these costs is that most Formula 1 teams don’t generate nearly enough funds to carry these costs. Yes, there are sponsorships, but sponsors mostly focus on top teams like McLaren, who have the most sponsors on the 2025 Formula Grid. So after a few years, the expenses become a little hard to deal with and teams tend to just pull out of the sport when the results cannot justify the expenses. But the biggest reason for the failure of many Formula 1 teams comes down to a lack of experience, usually due to not being able to sign some of the top talent. This includes having drivers with little to no experience and staff who haven’t cut their teeth at the pinnacle of motorsport yet. But Cadillac aims to change all this. And if it all goes as planned, they could possibly win the 2026 Formula 1 season. So, how are they going to do this? It all started in early 2023 when General Motors and Michael Andred’s Andretti Global announced their intention to enter the sport under the brand name of Cadillac. The FIA immediately approved their bid, but they would later be struck down by the Formula 1 group, who vetoed it. It would take another year of back and forth before Cadillac was finally approved in November 2024. but under the condition that they would become engine suppliers, a move that is set to happen in 2030. Former Virgin and Marushia CEO Graeme Lden was then approached and signed on as team principal with other notable figures including Rob White, Nick Chester, and Pat Simons all being announced as part of the team. Moreover, the operation will be based in four different locations with three bases in the United States in Indiana, North Carolina, and Michigan. Yet the most important is probably the base in Silverstone near the racetrack where Cadillac will also be testing the car. This is already a step in the right direction when compared to Honda which tried to operate from Japan when the team was still bar. But getting into F1 isn’t cheap with the team spending a reported $450 million just to earn a spot on the current grid. Finally, the team has agreed to be powered by Ferrari until they finally build their own power units, which essentially turns them into a customer team for the Scuderia. All these moves were powerful, having put the team on the right trajectory. And when they finally signed two of the greatest drivers ever, more and more people began thinking that maybe Cadillac might just have a shot. Midway through the 2025 Formula 1 season, all eyes were on Cadillac to find out exactly who the team would be hiring as the first ever drivers. A lot of names were thrown in the hat with even a few rookies possibly being listed to take over in one of the cars. Yet the team made the decision to go for merit and experience over youth, signing the best second drivers the sport had ever seen in Valter Botas and Sergio Perez. Both these drivers have a ton of experience, not just driving a Formula 1 car, but driving at the top of the grid against the best who ever do it. First, we have Botas, who has been on the grid since March 2013. Botas is a 10 time Formula 1 race winner, having scored 20 pole positions and 67 podiums. But what makes the Finnish driver special is the fact that he has driven alongside Lewis Hamilton since 2017, helping Mercedes to five constructors championships along the way. But the Finn has also been the ultimate team player, having helped Lewis win many races along the way, often sacrificing his own race for the team. Yet Valtry has never been a team leader, and this might be his big opportunity. And what many people might not know is that Botas himself was actually a sniper at some point. On the other side of the garage is Sergio Perez, who has just as much, if not more experience than Valtry. The Mexican has taken the start line 285 times, winning six Grand Prix and being on the podium a whopping 39 times. But his biggest achievement is winning the constructor’s championship twice in 2022 and 2023 alongside teammate Max Vstappen and guiding Max to his very first drivers title in 2021. Had it not been for the Mexican and his valiant efforts, there is no telling whether Max would have even been able to win the title. This truly means that Cadillac has a team of drivers with more experience than most other teams on the grid, followed only by Ferrari with Charleslair and Lewis Hamilton. So, how can Cadillac win the title in 2026? [Music] Since this will be their first season, it could sound ridiculous that I have such high hopes for the American manufacturer, but a few things are currently going their way. If the team entered the sport in 2025, they would be nowhere near the top teams who have been fine-tuning their cars since the regulation change in 2022. Cadillac would have to play catch-up. But since 2026 ushers the sport into a brand new direction, none of this even matters. Cadillac can immediately focus on designing a car for the 2026 season while not having to worry about spending money on upgrades for 2025. They are likely to get the most wind tunnel and CFD time to develop the car. And with Ferrari, a proven engine supplier, being the one in charge of that department, the team can simply focus on making the car as efficient as possible. Being able to spend their resources far more effectively than other teams could make a huge difference and perhaps even allow them to identify a loophole like Brawn GP did in 2009. Finally, there is one big difference that other teams who just entered the sport don’t have, and that is financial backing. Cadillac, which forms part of General Motors, is one of the richest car manufacturers in the world. This gives them plenty of cash to burn if the board permits and should be handy when the upgrades need to come in throughout the season. Unlike Brawn in 2009, who ran out of money, Cadillac won’t have to worry about the same problems. While the vast experience of their two top drivers will surely make a massive difference, now it won’t be easy and the team will need some luck as well. Yet, Vary Botas could finally win his first world championship. What do you think? Let us know in the comments. And make sure to subscribe to stay uptod date with the best of F1. Let’s go.