General Motors wins F1 engine approval for 2029

General Motors, a US automaker, has been granted a formal contract to supply Formula 1 engines for the 2029 season.

The FIA and General Motors, which jointly announced the development, mark the first time a specific year has been used to mark GM’s engine’s debut.

The new team under GM’s luxury Cadillac brand was approved last month for entry.

Cadillac will make its team debut the following year, and the team will continue to use Ferrari engines until GM’s own engine is ready.

Commercial rights holder F1, who had been granted the GM entry at the beginning of 2024, initially rejected the entry after the FIA approved it.

Instead of the US-based Andretti racing team with GM financial backing, F1 approved it after the project was reorganized as a recognized Cadillac entry.

To design and build its new power-unit, GM has established a new engine company.

A GM spokesman confirmed to BBC Sport that the company would be “ready by (the) end of the decade” with an F1 engine.

Mohammed Ben Sulayem, president of the FIA, stated: “The progress we see today confirms the journey has been worthwhile, despite the process’s challenges.”

“Welcoming GM Performance Power Units LLC. As a power unit supplier for the championship starting in 2029, Formula 1’s approval as a supplier of power units marks another significant development and highlights the growing interest from top automotive manufacturers like General Motors.

The 2029 season will continue under the current F1 rules until the end of 2030, in line with the new engine regulations that are being implemented for the following year.

These use a revised version of the 1. 6-liter turbo hybrid engines used by F1 since 2014, with a simplified design and a reduction in the engine’s electrical component’s share of the power from 20% to 50%.

Before the end of the next rules cycle, F1 engine companies rejected Ben Sulayem’s proposal to introduce V10 naturally aspirated engines.

The meeting agreed to continue discussing the status of F1 engines in light of the possibility of a 2031 revision of the rules.