Mercedes F1 chief offers $450 MILLION Cadillac verdict

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Mercedes chief offers $450 MILLION Cadillac F1 verdict

The Mercedes chief claims that the sum is 'too low'

Originally written by Simmey Hannifin Donaldson. This version is a translation.

Monday 20 January 2025 01:00

Mercedes chief Toto Wolff has issued a stunning verdict on Cadillac and their proposed Formula 1 entry.

General Motors have agreed to enter the sport under the Cadillac brand in 2026, with the idea that the team will eventually become a works team.

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Cadillac are set to become the 11th team on the grid, with another new team in Audi also set to join the F1 lineup having taken over at Sauber.

With Cadillac set to enter the sport as an 11th team, the process that they have to go through is very different to the one required by Audi.

Audi are set to join the F1 grid in 2026

Toto Wolff on Cadillac F1 entry

And, even with this provisional agreement for Cadillac to join the grid, some F1 teams are not totally happy about the situation.

At least that was the impression Mercedes chief Wolff gave off in a recent interview with German outlet Auto Motor und Sport.

Quizzed on the Cadillac entry, Wolff claimed that the reported entry fee required to enter the sport is too low, and that F1 teams will 'lose' as a result.

"We lose in the first place," Wolff asked when quizzed on the F1 money pot being divided 11 ways. "We don't know what Cadillac will invest in Formula 1.

"The compensation payment, which is currently said to be 450 million dollars, is too low. That doesn't compensate for the direct loss of income.

"Only time will tell what the sport will gain from an eleventh participant.

"If that number increases, then everyone wins. But we don't know. No one has spoken to me about what Cadillac is planning exactly."

On the flip side, however, Wolff does admit that if the team do come into the sport and heavily invest, it could be a positive.

"If Cadillac now comes with a works entry and invests a corresponding marketing budget in Formula 1, then that is added value for Formula 1," he added.

Mercedes Formula 1 Toto Wolff Cadillac General Motors