Cadillac F1 Engine Factory to Open on 18 December

Key Takeaways

When does Cadillac’s engine factory open?

Cadillac’s engine factory opens on 18 December in Charlotte, North Carolina. General Motors president Mark Reuss made the announcement at a conference at the Autosport Business Exchange in New York.

Reuss said: “We’re opening our whole engine factory, if you will, in Charlotte, North Carolina on 18 December.” He added that the project is “coming really well”.

Why is General Motors building F1 engines?

General Motors was approved by the FIA in 2025 as a power unit supplier from the 2029 season onwards. That approval is the reason for the new F1 engine facilities at the manufacturer’s base in Charlotte.

The company now has a couple of years to design its own power unit before it is due to arrive on the grid.

Could the V8 switch shorten GM’s engine life?

A switch back to V8 engines could give GM’s powertrain only two seasons in action at best. FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has committed to F1 returning to V8s, potentially running on sustainable fuel with a smaller share of electric power, by 2031.

If the change is brought forward to 2030, the GM unit might get just one season. The timing is therefore far from ideal for the manufacturer.

How is Cadillac’s 2026 debut season going?

Cadillac’s maiden season has been tricky, with the team the only outfit yet to score a point in 2026. The MAC-26 has qualified slowest of all at the last four rounds, and the team is running customer Ferrari power units.

Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas have brought experience to the project, but have also been recording their worst career results.

What did Mark Reuss say about the long-term plan?

Reuss said Cadillac is committed to building the team, the powertrain and the car for the long term. “You know, we’re not here to finish last, so we’ve got to follow through and build this team, build the powertrain and build the car, like we did in GTP,” he said.

He explained that progress takes time because it is a place where GM has never raced, and that the process is “logarithmic, it’s not linear”.

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