Cadillac in F1, Ben Sulayem’s ‘personal’ victory: “Everyone is happy now, but it was terrible”

The new Cadillac Today everyone in Formula 1 is happy with the arrival of Cadillac, a team that is the expression of a giant of the automotive industry like General Motors. Especially since the results are disappointing and, at least for the moment, the American team is not threatening to almost anyone. Yet, it has not always been like this: for years there have been controversies, appeals, criticisms, readmissions, with the FIA ​​of president Mohammed Ben Sulayem on one side – that of Cadillac and the then Team Andretti which initially should have given its name to the eleventh team – and Liberty Media and the teams on the other. Today it is Ben Sulayem himself who celebrates the official entry of the US team as an almost personal success. Click here to add Formula Passion as your favorite source on Google Discover: you will find our content more easily! Ben Sulayem’s revenge “To say that there was some friction at the time – explains the FIA president in a long video interview granted to the famous business magazine Forbes – seems like an understatement to me. Certainly, the idea came to me because we had three races in the USA but no American constructors. So, when the idea was born, it was actually me. It happened precisely in Miami, when I came a few years ago. It was the right path to follow, to support the business, which is not just about money but the sport overall. And when I said that, my God, it’s like I did something serious. I just wanted to open up that possibility, but I was told that I couldn’t do it, and I was attacked for three and a half years. Would I do it again? “They were all against it – adds Mohammed Ben Sulayem – because in the end it’s like a cake and everyone wants their slice. But, then, if you divide the cake into 11 and no longer into 10, it means that the teams will receive less, they will lose something. But I never expected so much aggression towards the FIA and then towards me personally. And in reality they did everything, but the attack especially from the British media… They accused me of everything. I told them ‘We’re looking at it one way different, but in reality, having GM in Formula 1 would be better’. And now everyone is applauding, even those who were against it.” The (for now poor) competitiveness of the 11th team The president of the FIA then concluded by explaining how the fact that Cadillac is in sporting difficulty, at least for the moment, does not change things: “We didn’t expect them to win and immediately be the fastest. In F1 it doesn’t work like that. It was a matter of having them inside, after which the responsibility is theirs, not ours as the FIA. We as the Federation had our role to play and that was to open the expression of interest for the entry of a team, we can regulation to have up to 12 teams is never about adding a team, it’s about adding the right one that will enhance the business.” “But then it’s up to them to be on the grid, to be fast, to get on the podium,” concluded Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

Automobile Magazine – F1 English News , 2026-05-21 21:00:00