GM boss insists Trump tariffs will not impact Cadillac F1 project

General Motors president Mark Reuss has revealed a potential $5 billion hit from tariffs introduced by United States president Donald Trump – but insists it will not impact on the Cadillac Formula 1 team.

Having cut its profit forecast due to the uncertainty in the automotive industry caused by Trump’s tariff plans, Reuss said GM – Cadillac’s parent company – could be set for a huge blackhole as a result.

It comes with Cadillac preparing its entry to F1 in 2026 and its own power units three years later. Meanwhile, the series itself is still waiting to see what impact the global tariffs announced in April and later largely deferred will have.

Reuss, though, is adamant the team will not feel the squeeze. When asked whether it would affect Cadillac, he replied: “No, it doesn't, it's an important question, we’re working very hard.

“These are long-term footprints that we have that are very old in some cases, that have been there a long time, and so we're working to bring as much as we can into the United States and avoid the tariffs, but not at all costs and it doesn't happen overnight.

“There's no light switch that says: ‘oh, all of a sudden we're tariff-free’. You probably would have seen over the last few days, we did earnings in the early part of the week, and then we came back and did the earnings review and guidance, and so in that second one, there's about $5 billion of impact for us, but it's not going to affect this project.”

With Reuss certain that – internally at least – Cadillac will not suffer, the F1 newcomer has also received plenty of interest from potential sponsors and partners.

Dan Towriss – chief executive of TWG Motorsports, the umbrella company that houses Cadillac – told Autosport during a roundtable at the Miami Grand Prix that having a title partner is “part of the commercial strategy”, with McLaren the only current team not to have one.

Asked if American partners would be key, Towriss said: “Yes, but I think not exclusively. We certainly want to have key American brands as anchors as part of our plan, but we're on a global stage, so this isn't an America-only strategy.

“So there are a lot of conversations happening. The interest has been tremendous from that standpoint as well and so a lot of that work has been taking place.

“There are a lot of conversations happening over the weekend as well and so there will certainly be things to announce very shortly, but I couldn't be happier with the response to the Cadillac Formula 1 team.”