General Motors announced a new company established with TWG Motorsports to create new powertrains for the potential GM/Cadillac Formula 1 team that so far has only tentative approval to become the 11th team for the 2026 season.
The new company, GM Performance Power Units LLC, will be located in North Carolina, close to the GM Charlotte Technical Center.
Why GM announced the engine company now
The timing of this announcement might seem a bit odd since the GM/Cadillac F! team doesn’t have final approval by the FIA and F1, but the nature of the potential approval dictates an early start.
A significant component of F1’s support for the potential GM team was that it would be a factory works team by 2030, which is a team that makes its engine and may supply engines to other teams. Therefore, a big reason to form the new company and hire personnel is to demonstrate that GM is taking positive steps to create a division to develop the future engine.
The GM/Cadillac team won’t need to supply powertrains for the 2026 season; that’s not a reasonable expectation because the engines are highly complex, and a one-year development cycle is unreasonable. Ferrari will supply the GM team’s powertrain and transmission for the first two seasons.
What we know about the new powertrain company
Russ O’Blenes, a current GM Motorsports Propulsion and Performance team director, will be the CEO of GM Performance Power Units. O’Blenes has 30 years of motorsports racing experience.
When O’Blenes’ new role was announced, Dan Towriss, the CEO of TWG Motorsports, said, “We’re delighted to welcome Russ to this pivotal role. His expertise and leadership will be instrumental as we lay the foundation for Cadillac’s Formula 1 journey.”
The other primary appointment for the GM Cadillac 1 was last month, with the naming of Graeme Lowdon as the Team Principal. Lowdon was previously the Marussia Sporting Director.
