A team run by the American motor brand General Motors with a base at Silverstone has agreed a deal to join Formula One in 2026.

After two years or so of speculation, the project lead by General Motors (GM) has been granted approval in principle to join Formula One as per a statement by F1 earlier today (25/11).

The project had originally been helmed by the Andretti Global team, which competes in multiple other forms of motorsport including IndyCar, Formula E, Extreme E, IMSA and Australian Supercars, before Andretti agreed to work with the American brand GM.

Initially, F1 rejected the proposal to open a spot on the grid to Andretti, with formal rejection announced in January despite the FIA approving the project’s bid to enter Formula One last year.

Undeterred, the team pushed on with plans to be ready. Part of this included the opening of a base at Silverstone adjacent to the track that hosts the British Grand Prix and near to the base of Aston Martin’s F1 team.

The Silverstone base was intended by Andretti Global to host the team’s race and design departments and was paired with plans to build the cars and run the team from facilities in Indiana and North Carolina in the USA. The Silverstone base was opened in April and has seen staff recruited towards the project.

Rumours had emerged over the Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend that F1’s operators Formula One Management were preparing to U-turn on the previous refusal to let the team in, which the news now confirms.

While confirmation has come, the team will no longer be referred to as an Andretti entry as originally intended. Andretti leader Michael Andretti walked away from day-to-day leadership of the company last month, with the statement seeing the approved team named by F1 as GM/Cadillac – named after the GM-owned car brand – and running as a joint effort by GM and TWG Global, who own and operate Andretti Global.

As part of the deal, GM is seeking to create its own engine and run as a works team, with the team to run a customer engine until this is ready. This was originally planned to be introduced in 2028, but has since been pushed back to being ready by the end of the decade.

In a statement, Formula One’s managing group said the deal had been agreed in principle. The move will see F1 expand to a grid of 11 teams and 22 cars for the first time since the Manor F1 team collapsed at the end of 2016.

The F1 statement read, “Formula 1 announced today that it has reached an agreement in principle with General Motors (GM) to support bringing GM/Cadillac as the 11th team to the Formula 1 grid in 2026.

“Formula 1 has maintained a dialogue with General Motors, and its partners at TWG Global, regarding the viability of an entry following the commercial assessment and decision made by Formula 1 in January 2024.

“Over the course of this year, they have achieved operational milestones and made clear their commitment to brand the eleventh team GM/Cadillac, and that GM will enter as an engine supplier at a later time. Formula 1 is therefore pleased to move forward with this application process and will provide further updates in due course.”