{"id":508894,"date":"2026-02-28T03:40:28","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T03:40:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/508894\/"},"modified":"2026-02-28T03:40:28","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T03:40:28","slug":"cadillac-honours-legend-mario-andretti-with-naming-of-first-f1-car","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/508894\/","title":{"rendered":"Cadillac honours legend Mario Andretti with naming of first F1 car"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/CadillacF1Team_3991_HiRes.jpg\" alt=\"Cadillac finally names its first F1 car with special tribute\"\/><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Cadillac MAC-26 on track at Bahrain during pre-season F1 testing.<\/p>\n<p>This year\u2019s Ferrari-powered machine will be known as the MAC-26, which stands for Mario Andretti Cadillac 26.<\/p>\n<p>Andretti was one of the instigators of the new Formula 1 team, alongside his son Michael.<\/p>\n<p>Cadillac said the chassis name \u201crecognises Andretti\u2019s legacy\u201d and \u201creinforces a forward-looking identity rooted in performance and the pursuit of results at the highest level of motorsport, coupled with humility, humanity and passion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Andretti, who won the F1 drivers\u2019 championship in 1978 with Lotus, said he was honoured to have Cadillac\u2019s first F1 car named after him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRacing has been the joy of my life,\u201d said Andretti.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is the ultimate compliment that the Cadillac Formula 1 Team sees those years as meaningful and worthy of recording with this honour.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/4rtmwSt\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">CLICK HERE<\/a> to purchase tickets to the 2026 Repco Adelaide Motorsport Festival.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI cherish the opportunity that it gives me to have a lasting bond with F1 and am genuinely appreciative of everyone who continues to acknowledge my part in racing history.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1022386\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1772250024_766_e41f09e6-172a-a343-b006-d2a59897fa60.jpg\" alt=\"A close-up image of the Cadillac MAC-26 name plate.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>Cadillac\u2019s first F1 car will be known as the MAC-26.<\/p>\n<p>Cadillac will begin its first Formula 1 race at the Australian Grand Prix in a week with Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas on the Albert Park circuit.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMario Andretti is a legend of Formula 1,\u201d said Graeme Lowdon, Cadillac team principal.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA true racer who knows how to win and push the limits of what is possible.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut more than that, he is an incredible man with a gentle heart who believes in everyone\u2019s ability to shape their own path.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt the start of my own journey with the team, he asked me not to let him down \u2013 I hope that he will be proud to see the Cadillac Formula 1 Team car bearing his name finally take to the grid.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cadillac CEO Dan Towriss added: \u201cNaming our first chassis MAC-26 reflects the spirit Mario carried into Formula 1 and the belief that an American team belongs on this stage.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHis story embodies the American dream and inspires how we approach building this team every day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/t.cfjump.com\/92797\/b\/285241\" rel=\"nofollow sponsored noopener\" data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: none; vertical-align: middle;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/285241.gif\" alt=\"\"\/><br \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Cadillac MAC-26 on track at Bahrain during pre-season F1 testing. This year\u2019s Ferrari-powered machine will be known&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":508895,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[64,63,3550,62640,817,813,816,85],"class_list":["post-508894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cadillac","tag-cadillac-f1","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=508894"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508894\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/508895"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=508894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=508894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=508894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}