General Motors will enter Formula 1 as a power unit manufacturer in 2029, the FIA has announced.
The US car making giant will join the championship with its own team, Cadillac, next year. It has already agreed a deal to use power units supplied by Ferrari.GM previously confirmed it had begun work on a power unit for F1’s new regulations which will come into force next year, but had not set a date for its introduction.
The sport’s governing body has now confirmed GM will introduce its power unit in the fourth year after F1’s next engine formula is introduced.
“Welcoming GM Performance Power Units LLC as an approved power unit supplier for the championship starting in 2029 marks another step in the global expansion of Formula 1 and highlights the growing interest from world-class automotive manufacturers like General Motors,” said FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
“Their dedication to innovation, sustainability, and competition is fully aligned with the FIA’s vision for the future of our sport. It also strengthens our commitment to making motorsport more accessible and inclusive worldwide—welcoming new manufacturers, advancing technology, and connecting with a broader, more diverse fan base.”
The development of GM’s F1 power unit is being steered by Russ O’Blenes (pictured), CEO of GM Performance Power Units. The company is due to move into a new building to begin construction of its F1 power unit in 2027.
Ben Sulayem recently cast doubt over the future of F1’s new engine regulations after stating the sport should consider switching to normally aspirated V10 engines. A meeting between the FIA, Formula One management and engine manufacturers two weeks ago in Bahrain resulted in a commitment to the planned rules cycle, meaning the incoming hybrids are expected to remain in use until at least 2030.
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SteveP
23rd April 2025, 19:07
So, just in time for the new PU regulations that start in 2030 then?
They fiddled around until developing a PU for 2026 wasn’t realistic, and now the target completion is the year before that spec is obsolete.
Huh??
Jim from US (@jimfromus)
23rd April 2025, 19:28
Good practice.
falken (@falken)
23rd April 2025, 21:12
Exactly. A four year head start on general build, and 3 years to hire anyone they like from whoever wins the 2026 regs battle. They might be a one hit wonder at the end of the regs.
MichaelN
24th April 2025, 0:38
It’s a bit sad, really. The V6 Turbo engine could have been developed years ago. On a more amusing note, it’s certain fun that the “GM team” that FOM wanted so badly instead of Andretti now has to go around begging others for an engine. So much manufacturer involvement! Yay! Maybe Toyota can join too and just run Mercedes engines. Why not!
SteveP
24th April 2025, 6:44
Appreciate the mild sarcasm, but not Mercedes PU – they are Maxed out on the teams they can supply under the regs.
anon
24th April 2025, 21:55
SteveP, well, when you consider the timeline in relation to what other manufacturers managed, it’s not actually that surprising.
If we look at Honda, the official announcement was made in 2013, with the company then joining the sport in 2015. However, Honda had begun development before 2013 – the indiction being early design studies started in 2010 – and it is fairly safe to say that the engine was rushed into production before it was ready (Honda really hadn’t wanted to enter until 2016 at the earliest, but was forced to introduce the engines prematurely due to pressure from Ron Dennis).
Similarly, if we look over at Audi, they announced their intention to enter Formula 1 in 2022, but it will not be until 2026, 4 years down the line, that they intend to start racing with their own power units.
If we take 3-4 years as a rough baseline, based on Honda and Audi, and given that it wasn’t until 2024 that it looked likely that the bid would be accepted, then you’d have been looking at 2028 being the earliest that those engines might have made an appearance. Introducing those engines for 2029, whilst late in that cycle, is actually a fairly realistic assessment of how long the development cycle tends to be for engines in F1.
M2X
25th April 2025, 15:44
Then it took Honda 11 years to build a competitive engine.
So 2034 for Audi and 2035 for GM, if GM starts development now.
SteveP
25th April 2025, 19:26
Which just means that the generally accepted development period is 3-4 years, and they therefore have 3-4 years PU development budget to allocate to the task.
M2X suggests 11 years, so there is even more scope for spreading the cost
An Sionnach
23rd April 2025, 20:48
It’s a H16 that runs on strawberry jam
DB-C90 (@dbradock)
24th April 2025, 6:10
A bit like Audi joining, I’ll believe it when it actually happens. So far in the future F1 may not even be in existence by then.
Imre (@f1mre)
24th April 2025, 7:14
My thoughts also. They may sell their team by 2029.
Coventry Climax
24th April 2025, 11:47
So these three things mean that GM is accepting
– the single, predescribed and narrow direction and thoroughly limited level of ‘innovation’ that the FiA approves of,
– the FiA to determine by how much ICE performance is turned down in order to save fuel and support the hybrid racing narrative,
– the FiA to fake race outcomes as they see fit in order to keep up the show, while running tyres noone in their right mind would otherwise run.
Brilliant, welcome into the secluded, close knit family.
SM
24th April 2025, 12:44
To all those above: it’s likely they won’t be developing for the new set of V6T regs coming next year. The FIA are pushing for a new engine in 2029 and if that doesn’t materialise then GM will no doubt put their engine program back to whenever the new engine regs come into force. It’s insane for them to develop a V6T now to maybe use for a single season. They’re not doing that they’re not stupid
SteveP
24th April 2025, 17:51
That was my point earlier.
That remains to be seen.
Kringle
24th April 2025, 18:13
He definitely just slapped the top of that engine.