F1 will be a 'battle of giants' with GM entry, says RB boss

DOHA : Formula One will become even more a 'battle of giants' with the arrival in 2026 of General Motors' Cadillac brand as an 11th team, according to RB boss Laurent Mekies.

The Frenchman told reporters at the Qatar Grand Prix that the entry of the U.S. carmaker, announced this week, was positive.

"It's going to be pretty much all car manufacturers probably, except for Williams and us," he added.

"Even Haas is also linked to a car manufacturer now ... it's another sign that the sport is going towards the direction of a battle of giants."

U.S.-owned Haas, the newest team on the starting grid and in private ownership, recently announced a technical partnership with Toyota.

Red Bull Racing, RB'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 this week 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.

HOUSE INVESTIGATION

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.