As F1 drivers blast electrification, GM’s Barra signals flexibility

Posted by Talbot Payne on May 3, 2026

At the ABX Miami Business Conference at the Miami GP, GM CEO Mary Barra introduces the Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing F1 Collector Series 1.

At the ABX Miami Business Conference at the Miami GP, GM CEO Mary Barra introduces the Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing F1 Collector Series 1.

Henry Payne, The Detroit News

Miami — When General Motors Co. committed to join Formula One under its Cadillac flag in January 2023, it joined other luxury makers, including Mercedes, Audi and Aston Martin, enthusiastic about F1’s development of a new, electrified, 50-50 hybrid V-6 powertrain to debut this year.

But drivers despise the new powertrain for its girth, complexity and safety concerns.

“It’s just destroying the racing,” said Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, normally one of the paddock’s most reticent drivers. “We’re far away from proper F1 cars, and pushing flat out without thinking about batteries and all this stuff. I saw (onboard laps) from … the V-8 era and then what it looks like versus now … the character of the cars, and just how much more intense it looked, and how much more exciting it looked back then compared to now. I think that it’s sad.”

Stroll’s comments are echoed by drivers up and down the pit lane who pine for the purity of past, nimble, V8-powered racers and express disdain for the electrified powertrain they’re using.

Read full article here.

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