P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Cadillac is set to join the F1 grid next year but will be forced to fork out a significant payment to compensate other teams.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff believes that the fee imposed on Cadillac to enter F1 next year is too low, despite General Motors joining the grid as an 11th squad in 2026 under the Cadillac branch, which will expand the grid beyond 20 cars for the first time in a decade. The recent Concorde Agreement initially set the fee for new entrants at $200 million, but it has been reviewed and increased due to the rising value of F1 teams in recent years. Wolff stated that Cadillac’s entry and investment in F1 would bring added value to the sport, but expressed concerns over the impact of an additional team on end-of-season payouts. He noted that the fee, currently at $450 million, is insufficient to compensate for the direct loss of income for current teams, highlighting the uncertainty surrounding Cadillac’s investment and its potential benefits for the sport. Ultimately, Wolff emphasized that time will reveal the outcomes of having an eleventh participant in F1, and the hope is that it will benefit all involved parties.
