Before a wheel has turned in anger, American automotive giants are trading barbs.

Not that they're likely to make a movie about it, but it is already clear that the relationship between Ford and Cadillac, now that both are on the F1 grid, is going to be a little feisty.

While Cadillac enters the sport for the first time in its own right, albeit using Ferrari engines for the first few (three) seasons, Ford, which has enjoyed a (mostly) illustrious history in the sport, returns in partnership with Red Bull, even if it isn't entirely clear what that partnership involves.

Talking to The Athletic, Cadillac CEO, Dan Towriss openly questioned the relationship between Ford and Red Bull, as he compared it to General Motors' (GM) commitment.

"It's not even close," he said of the Blue Oval. "One is a marketing deal with very minimal impact, while GM is an equity owner (in Cadillac F1).

"They're deeply embedded from an engineering standpoint," he continued, "and they were involved from day one. Those two deals couldn't be more different."

Bill Ford, executive chairman of the Ford Motor Company, was quick to respond.

"I started to laugh," he replied when asked about Towriss' claim, describing the comments as "patently absurd."

"I would say, actually, the reverse is true," he continued. "They're running a Ferrari engine, they're not running a Cadillac engine, I don't know if they have any GM employees on the race team."

"Nothing could be further from the truth, in terms of our partnership with Red Bull being a marketing effort," added Will Ford, general manager of Ford Racing.

"We could have spent a lot of money to slap our logo on a car, or to put our name alongside a team," he insisted. "But we made a very deliberate decision to form Red Bull Ford Powertrains, as a true technical partnership and really complement the audacious eﬀort that Red Bull decided to set down on in developing their own power unit.

"We found the areas where Ford can uniquely complement the skills and capabilities that Red Bull has, given the size and breadth and technical expertise within our organisation, with the intention of creating the best power unit in F1, just like we did in decades past," he added.

Looks like fans may get to enjoy some 'popcorn moments' this season as the American automotive legends duke it out.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Geeza1966, 6 hours ago

"Well whatever happens, we will all get to see another chapter of Ford V GM playout in glorious technicolor and on the worlds biggest and most star spangled stage!!!! You would have to back Ford at the outset, mainly due to the fact that they have "bought into" a very well established and successful F1 entity... But no doubt, GM will be pulling out all the stops to scupper the blue oval and their best laid plans.... If Ferrari produce a barnstormer of a PU and they get the chassis there or there-abouts, who knows what could happen... One thing is for certain - It will be great to see 11 teams on the grid this year whatever happens. I wish them all well!!"

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2. Posted by Abies, 18/01/2026 10:00

"Hope Cadillac name changes to Andretti soon with Cadillac just the engine supplier. "

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3. Posted by Max Noble, 18/01/2026 4:39

"Cadillac had better watch what it says before a single wheel has turned in anger. A massive serve of humble pie, with a side-order of regret could be served by mid-season!
"

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4. Posted by dnorm, 17/01/2026 12:16

"It's not even close. Ford is basically paying for naming rights. Cadillac will eventually be a full-blown works team."

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