The founder and chairman of the Circuit of the Americas (COTA), Bobby Epstein, has called the addition of the Cadillac F1 team a win-win situation for the circuit and the sport, suggesting that an American driver would improve the prospects greatly.
Cadillac F1’s entry into the premier class of motorsports was approved early this year after going through several hurdles. F1 was convinced of the value the new team was bringing in after General Motors announced an increased participation.
Becoming F1’s eleventh team after receiving its final approval, Cadillac F1 is also the sport’s second American team after Haas, and is now preparing to race in 2026, the same year when F1 enters a new era of regulations. Epstein believes the arrival of Cadillac F1 will pave the way for many possibilities in the future. He said:
“I think Cadillac is going to be really great for us, and for the sport. They were here this past weekend for the WEC [World Endurance Championship] race. I think they’re going to be very engaged as a brand, which could be great.
People attend an event to unveil the colors for the 2026 Cadillac debut in Formula One racing, ahead of the 2025 Miami Formula One Grand Prix, in Miami Beach, Florida, on May 3, 2025.
People attend an event to unveil the colors for the 2026 Cadillac debut in Formula One racing, ahead of the 2025 Miami Formula One Grand Prix, in Miami Beach, Florida, on May 3, 2025.
Giorgio VIERA / AFP/Getty Images
“I think about all the possibilities of things we can do together because they’re a manufacturer; from the Hot Lap ride, which could be a Cadillac ride, to a Cadillac garage tour, to having a focus on getting an American driver.
“That constellation is going to be very good for us.”
While Cadillac F1 finalized Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas as the debut driver lineup, it also signed IndyCar star Colton Herta as its test driver, who will compete in Formula 2 next year. Epstein added that an American driver in the new team’s lineup, especially a champion, could add to the benefits. He said:
“For the sport’s sake, separate from just COTA and the grand prix at our track, if there were an American champion driver, that would go a lot farther. That would take it to the next level.”
Considering the addition of a new team, COTA has made additional garages. Epstein explained how someone assumed that the last garage would belong to Cadillac F1, a claim he strongly refuted, saying that Cadillac F1 won’t be a last-place team. He said:
“I don’t expect them to be the last-place team.
“So we have to build new garages, because there’s another team on the grid. And someone said, ‘Well, you’re building the Cadillac garages.’
“Those garages are the ones that the last-place team is. And I said, ‘What makes you think they’re going to be that garage is going to be for Cadillac? Because I don’t expect them to be the last-place team.’
“And they said, ‘Well, it goes by the year before’, so I forgot about that…So they’re automatically, by default, the Cadillac garages. I was like, ‘They’re not going to be the last place team!'”