Cadillac signs on with F1 Academy from 2027 as all 10 F1 teams extend backing
F1 Academy just locked in a big piece of its future. All ten current Formula 1 teams have committed to multi-year support of the all-female series, and Cadillac will join the roster from 2027 as an additional partner — a timely move as the American marque gears up for its own F1 entry in 2026.
The model remains simple and effective: each F1 team backs a driver and livery on the F1 Academy grid, bringing resources, branding and a very public link to the top tier. Cadillac’s arrival adds another heavy hitter to the paddock, bridging its F1 effort with a pipeline that’s increasingly central to how young drivers get noticed.
“We want to be involved,” Cadillac team principal Graeme Lowdon said earlier this year, when asked about expanding the program beyond F1. “We don’t just want to be at the end of a conveyor belt when it comes to drivers, because they’re so important in every form of motorsport. The key thing is we do want to get involved in investing in the future and ensuring that we’re involved in building all sorts of talent, and not just drivers.”
For F1 Academy, now in its third season and running alongside seven F1 weekends in 2025 with a season finale in Las Vegas, this is exactly the sort of structural backing it has chased since launch. The series also confirmed a tweak to its participation rules: the two-season cap can be extended to a third year for drivers who race in 2025 and 2026 and show “strong potential for continued growth.” That’s a sensible adjustment — more seat time for standout drivers, less churn for the grid.
“The commitment of long-term support from all ten current Formula 1 teams, and the addition of Cadillac to our grid from 2027, sends a powerful message about the future of F1 Academy,” said series director Susie Wolff. “We’re not just providing a platform for the current generation of female drivers; together, we’re building a pathway to support generations of talent to come… A sharpened focus on individualised talent development, including the opportunity for drivers with high potential to compete in up to three seasons, will give stand-out drivers the support and platform needed to fully realise their potential.”
Cadillac’s move dovetails with a wider reshuffle at the top level. The brand is set to become Formula 1’s 11th team in 2026, while Audi arrives the same year as it completes its full takeover of the Sauber operation. For both newcomers, aligning with F1 Academy is about more than optics; it’s an early investment in a talent ecosystem that’s maturing quickly under the F1 umbrella.
From a competitive standpoint, F1 Academy has been most effective when the ladder feels connected: F1 liveries, F1 paddock slots, F1 eyes on the timing screens. Keeping all ten teams engaged for the long-term — and bringing Cadillac into that fold — gives the drivers the visibility they’ve been fighting for and the continuity that helps careers stick.
The bottom line: in a championship that thrives on momentum, this is a double win. F1 Academy secures real staying power with the full grid of F1 backers locked in, and Cadillac plants a flag where it matters most — in the trenches of driver development, not just on the F1 grid.
