Ben Sulayem hails Cadillac entry as win for F1 after being sent to ‘hell and back’

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem believes Cadillac’s planned entry into Formula 1 is a win for everybody – after suggesting he was sent to ‘hell and back’ for opening up the grid.

Following an 11th team entry process saga that began all the way back in February 2023, the situation finally appears to have a satisfactory conclusion with F1 announcing last week that it had approved in principle a deal for GM/Cadillac to join the grid in 2026.

But the intervening period was full of controversy as the original idea of an Andretti-Cadillac operation was rejected by F1, which prompted the American organisation to ask the Department of Justice to investigate a potential antitrust breach in not accepting the squad.

Following behind the scenes efforts from Ben Sulayem, former Liberty CEO Greg Maffei and F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, however, things moved on more recently and the revamped project – which is headed by GM and no longer involves Michael Andretti – has been provisionally approved.

For Ben Sulayem, who put himself in the firing line over choosing to open up potential new team entries in 2023, the acceptance of the Cadillac plan is hugely welcome, especially because of the criticisms he faced.

Asked by Autosport how important getting Cadillac into F1 was, Ben Sulayem said: “It is very important. I was sent to hell and then came back. That’s the bottom line. I was sent to hell….”

Reflecting on the involvement he had to help get things moving recently, Ben Sulayem said that he spoke to the Department of Justice and revealed a lot of work was done behind the scenes by the FIA to push things forward.

“Of course, I had a meeting with them [the DOJ],” he said. “And I was questioned. I have nothing to hide.

“I’m an elected president. So they elected me for a reason, and I was elected based on governance, democracy and transparency. So we did what the FIA did, and I am proud of what the team did.

“Yes, it went through a lot of process, due process, due diligence, all of that. Then it came to the point where we are hoping that we can overcome all of these differences and get them in a smoother way.”

While the FIA and FOM have not seen eye-to-eye on every matter since Ben Sulayem took over at the end of 2022, he said there was good collaboration between them on this matter to finally get the Cadillac idea across the line.

“Of course, FOM have their own process,” he said. “I do respect their process, it’s different.

Mohammed Ben Sulayem, President, FIA, Stefano Domenicali, CEO, Formula One Group, on the grid

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

“They look at the commercial side, we look at the sporting side and we work together. We work together all the way.”

He added: “I’m happy, really. I feel it’s a win for motorsport, for Formula 1, for the FIA, for FOM, for the teams, for the fans, and for motorsport in general.

“It’s not for me or anything. No, not at all. I don’t see it that way. People say that. No, believe me. I only see it as a success for motorsport in general and sustaining the business.”