Cadillac engines appeared in the Indianapolis 500 when the race counted toward the FIA World Championship of Drivers from 1950 to 1960. In 1952, driver Johnny Fedricks entered a Cadillac-engined Kurtis Kraft car but failed to qualify. Bill Homeier repeated the attempt in 1953 with the same result. A Chevrolet-engined entry by Gordon Reid had also failed to qualify in 1951. These early forays represented GM's only prior Formula One-related activity before the modern constructor project.
In January 2023, General Motors and Michael Andretti's Andretti Global announced a joint intention to enter the Cadillac brand into the Formula One World Championship. The FIA approved the application, but the Formula One Group vetoed it, conditioning reconsideration on GM committing to manufacture its own engines. Andretti continued building the team's infrastructure in the interim, using Toyota's wind tunnel in Cologne — which McLaren had recently vacated — to conduct aerodynamic development work.
In November 2024, following extended disputes between the Formula One Group and Michael Andretti, Andretti Global sponsor TWG Global announced it was taking over key business functions including sponsorship, infrastructure planning, and organisational growth. Michael Andretti remained as an advisor while his father Mario agreed to serve on the board of directors. The team renamed its British subsidiary from Andretti Racing to TWG Cadillac Formula 1 Team Ltd.
Also in November 2024, the Formula One Group tentatively approved Cadillac as a constructor for the 2026 season, with final ratification from the FIA and Formula One Management following in March 2025. As part of its approval, Cadillac signed the Concorde Agreement and GM paid an expansion fee of US$450 million — more than twice the amount originally discussed. GM simultaneously announced that it would develop and supply its own power units beginning in 2029, with Ferrari engines and gearboxes used until then. The team made its first public testing appearance at Imola in November 2024, with Sergio Pérez driving a blank-liveried Ferrari SF-23.
Team principal Graeme Lowdon, the former Virgin and Marussia CEO, was hired in December 2024. He reports to Dan Towriss, CEO of TWG Motorsports. The technical structure drew heavily from the former Enstone operation: Formula One chief technical officer Pat Symonds, operations officer Rob White, technical director Nick Chester, aerodynamicist Jon Tomlinson, and advisor Naoki Tokunaga all joined the team. Former Ferrari race engineer Xavi Marcos was appointed chief race engineer.
Cadillac initially stated its intention to pair an experienced driver with a younger American talent, with Colton Herta considered the likely American candidate. In a departure from that framing, the team ultimately signed former World Championship runners-up Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas for the inaugural 2026 season, citing their experience. Herta agreed to serve as a test driver and moved from IndyCar to FIA Formula 2 in 2026 with Cadillac's support. Zhou Guanyu, Bottas's former Sauber teammate, joined as reserve driver in January 2026. Simon Pagenaud, Pietro Fittipaldi, Charlie Eastwood, and Alec Udell were named simulator drivers.
The team operates from four primary locations. The flagship facility is a new campus in Fishers, Indiana — a suburb of Indianapolis — which serves as the primary hub for chassis manufacturing and research and development. Originally planned to house all Andretti Global programmes, it was repurposed exclusively for Formula One use to comply with FIA regulations prohibiting multi-series co-location. Non-F1 Andretti operations relocated to a separate site in Indianapolis. Additional facilities are located in Warren, Michigan, at the General Motors Technical Center, and in Silverstone, Northamptonshire, where chassis design and race operations are based. The team also retains its long-term agreement to use Toyota's Cologne wind tunnel.
GM established GM Performance Power Units LLC (GM PPU), led by veteran GM engine designer Russ O'Blenes, to produce a works Formula One engine targeting the 2029 season. The engine facility is being constructed in Concord, North Carolina, adjacent to the Hendrick Motorsports campus. The project involves US$70 million in construction costs and a further US$80 million in dynomometer and research equipment. The facility is expected to be fully operational by the first quarter of 2027. Preliminary engineering and testing are conducted at an interim site at 4540 Fortune Way NW in Concord. Reports also indicated that GM was exploring the acquisition of intellectual property from Renault's former power unit programme.
By the end of 2025, the team had advertised 595 positions and received 143,265 applications, hiring 520 staff. The Fishers campus alone represents a US$200 million investment.