Horner issues warning despite ‘open arms’ 11th F1 team stance

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has highlighted he would welcome General Motors’ F1 entry with open arms.

However, the Briton has asserted it must come at no expense to the existing F1 outfits.

RacingNews365 revealed during the Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend that General Motors is on the verge of being approved by F1 for a 2026 team entry.

It is being reported that the new team will be named Cadillac F1, after the famous American marque under the GM umbrella.

The arrival of an 11th team would coincide with the new cycle of technical regulations which sees the return of Honda and the arrival of Audi and Ford.

Ford will tie up with Red Bull to help it develop its power unit, which could spark a rivalry between the two American outfits.

“Nobody has spoken to us about it – but who knows?” Horner told Sky Sports F1. “Obviously, for an American team to come in, I think would be a positive. 

“We got Haas, but to have a big OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) come in, we got Ford versus GM could be pretty sexy.”

Horner points to financial concerns

GM is likely to be a significant fee to enter in order to compensate for the end-of-year payouts for the existing squads.

Horner highlighted the most important factor for the current teams regarding GM’s entry is protecting their own finances.

“It’s really nothing to do with the teams,” Horner said. “It’s down to the commercial rights holder and the FIA and with all these things, it comes down to the finances and how it’s going to be funded.

“I think as long as logistically can be accommodated, we’d have absolutely no problem with seeing GM come here, but we’re not paying for it.

“We got no issue, we would welcome them with open arms. But you don’t want to see the prize fund diluted. 

“So there will be that question of, whose slice of the cake does it come out of? Probably everybody’s.”