Cadillac’s F1 debut and 2029 engine plan

Cadillac’s first weeks in Formula 1 have produced two race finishes in a row, and the team says its own General Motors engine is now targeted for 2029. (f1i.com, planetf1.com) Sergio Perez said Cadillac’s opening was “promising” after both of its cars reached the finish in China and Japan, the second and third rounds of the 2026 season. Valtteri Bottas and Perez gave the new team its first back-to-back classified finishes as it starts life as Formula 1’s 11th entry. (f1i.com) Perez also said the harder phase starts now: keeping up with rivals’ upgrade pace over a full season. At Suzuka, Cadillac was about 2.3 seconds off the fastest car in first qualifying and roughly a second slower than the midfield, according to reporting on the team’s weekend. (motorsport.com, gptoday.com) Formula 1 teams buy or build two big performance blocks: the chassis, which is the car itself, and the power unit, which is the hybrid engine system. Cadillac is racing with Ferrari power units from its 2026 debut while General Motors works on an in-house package for later. (fia.com, formula1.com) That 2029 target is not just an ambition from team management. The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile approved GM Performance Power Units LLC, a joint venture of TWG Motorsports and General Motors, as an official Formula 1 power-unit supplier starting in 2029. (fia.com, formula1.com) Dan Towriss said 2029 remains the plan even though Formula 1’s current engine rules are due to begin in 2026 and could change again for 2031. He said he still wants a General Motors-built unit in the car “as soon as possible,” even if that leaves only a short window under one rules cycle. (planetf1.com, formula1.com) Cadillac’s route to the grid took two steps. Formula One Management backed an agreement in principle in November 2024 for a GM and Cadillac-branded team to join in 2026, and the entry then received final approval in March 2025. (formula1.com, cadillac.com) For now, the team’s benchmark is not the front of the field but the established midfield groups that already know how to develop through a 24-race season. Cadillac has cleared the first reliability test by finishing in Shanghai and Suzuka; the next test is whether it can close the gap before 2029 arrives. (f1i.com, motorsport.com)