Why Cadillac Joining Formula One Highlights MotoGP's Problem

After having its Formula One entry for 2026 confirmed, Cadillac will become the 11th team on the grid as the move adds an American team to the in-demand championship, but what about MotoGP and the effect it could have?

You see, Formula One and MotoGP have a lot of things in common despite being very, very different championships. The aerodynamic advances in Formula One have slowly started to creep over to MotoGP in the last few years, while it’s also become more common for team leaders, engineers or strategists to make their way across as well.

And while the technical similarities between the two championships have grown closer, the outlook for both has taken very different paths.

Let’s take Formula One, as not only will Cadillac - a huge American brand known for selling luxury cars - join the series, but German automotive giants Audi will also enter the championship in 2026.

That means Formula One will have Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren, Aston Martin, Audi and Cadillac on the grid, which sure sounds like the biggest line-up of premium car brands (and Red Bull) ever to be competing in the championship at the same time.

But as well as Audi and Cadillac, other manufacturers are always looking to join Formula One as its rise in the last decade has been substantial.

Now to MotoGP where things are not the same unfortunately and the move from Cadillac to join Formula One again highlights how little involvement there seems to be with brands joining the two-wheeled series.

BMW has consistently said that it is intrigued by the prospect of joining MotoGP and the German brand could be looking at entry to the series in 2027 when big rule changes come into force.

But is a possible BMW arrival enough to spark the same type of excitement? I’m not so sure. Kawasaki for example have repeatedly stated it has no intention of rejoining MotoGP, while Suzuki’s departure at the end of 2022 was a bad look.

Suzuki was one of the most competitive brands at the end of that season and left anyway to focus on other areas as a company. I don’t know about you but that just doesn’t sit right, or do anything to help MotoGP reach the same levels.

Then there’s KTM and the huge financial struggles that hovered over it during the last few months, nearly resulting in the Austrian company calling time on its MotoGP project. That has not happened, but if it had then MotoGP would have been down to four manufacturers.

It’s clear that Formula One is trending upwards and the interest to join the class is at an all-time high, but the same can’t be said for MotoGP. Kawasaki, Suzuki, BMW, MV Agusta and Triumph are just some of the huge brands out there not competing in the premium two-wheel championship, but it’s the lack of interest to do so which is concerning.

Costs won’t help as running a MotoGP project is extremely expensive, so the championship making things more cost-effective could be a good start to generating more interest.

Only time will tell if MotoGP becomes more attractive for other brands to join, but if it wants to compete with Formula One, it will likely need to do just that.

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