Formula 1 Battle of the Giants in 2026 with GM Cadillac entry

Regarding the GM Cadillac F1 entry, Mekies told reporters in Qatar last year: "It's going to be pretty much all car manufacturers probably, except for Williams and us. Even Haas is also linked to a car manufacturer [Toyota] now ... it's another sign that the sport is going towards the direction of a battle of giants."

American-owned Haas, the newest team on the starting grid and in private ownership, recently announced a technical partnership with Toyota. Red Bull Racing, VCARB's big sister team, are producing their own engine from 2026 in partnership with Ford.

Of the others, Alpine are owned by Renault, Ferrari and Mercedes have their own works teams while Sauber are becoming Audi in 2026. Aston Martin will have Honda as exclusive partners and McLaren are a sportscar maker in their own right.

Mike Krack, principal of Aston Martin, said GM and Cadillac still faced a "monumental task" to get everything in place for 2026 with a new set of regulations.

The BBC reported last year that the initial anti-dilution fee, split between the existing teams, would be $450m but Williams' boss James Vowles said that had yet to be decided.

"I don't think there's actually any defined amount of dilution fee. I think that's a part of a 2026 Concorde (Agreement), which hasn't been ratified at this point," he explained.

A previous bid by Cadillac with Andretti Global was rejected in January by Liberty Media-owned Formula One, who doubted it would be competitive or add value. That triggered an investigation by the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee into possible 'anticompetitive conduct'.

F1 team bosses, who had no say in the matter but had previously been against an expansion, felt General Motors coming in as Cadillac with their own power unit from 2028 had made the difference.

Vowles said: "It isn't the same proposition that was there before, in as much as there's a serious commitment and amount of investment going behind it."

Other insiders felt little had changed beyond the removal of the Andretti team name and Michael Andretti as leader, and that the U.S. probe was key. Drivers welcomed the addition of two more cars.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc said: "It's the first time in my career that there'll be 22 on the grid in F1, and that's exciting. That will obviously give more opportunities to very talented young drivers that are dreaming to get into Formula 1."

The new team, as Andretti, has already recruited senior staff -- several who were at Renault -- and set up a factory at Silverstone. Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, who won two championships with Renault, said they had the experience.

"A new team is never an easy task, but I think they will be well prepared and they have the right people. So, yeah, welcome," Alonso said.

General Motors have ramped up their F1 project with key appointments as they target becoming a fully works team after their acclimatisation spell with Ferrari power units

The American auto giant signalled their intent this week, announcing the set up of an engine company to turn its planned Cadillac Formula 1 entry into a full works team by the end of the decade. GM Performance Power Units LLC will be led by Russ O’Blenes.