Racing
© Jonathan Borba
Audi and Cadillac used the 2026 Monaco Grand Prix to debut major new hospitality structures, turning Formula 1’s first European weekend into a public statement that both projects are moving from newcomer status toward establishment.
Monaco was a deliberate stage for both launches. Audi confirmed the principality as the first appearance for its new European hospitality unit, while Cadillac used its first race on European soil since entering Formula 1 to raise its profile in front of one of the sport’s most visible paddocks.
That matters because these buildings are no longer just motorhomes. In modern Formula 1, hospitality units are part of how teams operate commercially and politically, giving them space to host sponsors, partners and VIP guests at the level expected of established outfits. For Audi and Cadillac, unveiling new structures now underlines how quickly both programs are trying to embed themselves in the series after months spent building their sporting and technical organizations.
Audi’s new unit is the more elaborate of the two in scale. It is a modular, three-storey structure built from 40 container elements, with about 600 square meters of usable space and a total weight of around 260 tonnes. The build includes a 45-square-meter glass facade, roughly seven kilometers of electrical lines, two kilometers of fiber-optic connections and about 270 meters of air-conditioning lines.
Audi said the system is designed to become the team’s gathering point at European rounds. A key part of that concept is an integrated crane system that works entirely within the building’s footprint and retracts once construction is complete. The team says that allows the entire structure to be assembled in 48 hours.
Stefano Battiston, Audi F1 team chief brand and commercial officer, said, "A distinctive and consistent experience for everyone who comes into contact with us is our highest priority." He linked the hospitality project to Audi’s wider aim of making the car, garage, hospitality and merchandise part of a single design language.
Cadillac’s own launch added to the same message. Its new motorhome has three floors and 700 square meters in total, and its arrival in Monaco gave the American entrant a high-profile platform to present itself to European audiences.
The scale of these projects also shows the tension in what hospitality has become in Formula 1. These structures take up increasing amounts of paddock space, are used only at nine major European Grands Prix and require multiple trailers plus at least two to three days for transport and assembly. They sit outside the budget cap and are aimed as much at marketing and image as they are at pure team need, even if they remain woven into race-weekend operations.
In Monaco, that trade-off is especially visible. With hundreds of journalists, commercial partners and VIP guests in attendance, the paddock is as much a communications showcase as a sporting workplace. By choosing this event for their launches, Audi and Cadillac made clear they are not just arriving in Formula 1. They are trying to look and operate like teams that expect to stay.