Cadillac F1 owners deny sale amid Walter probe

TWG Motorsports has denied that Cadillac’s Formula 1 project is for sale, moving at Zandvoort to shut down speculation triggered by U.S. investigations into Mark Walter and his rapid exit from the Los Angeles Lakers deal.

Before the official Dutch Grand Prix press conference for new team principal Marcin Budkowski, General Motors executive director of global motorsports communications Adrian Atkinson read a statement on behalf of TWG. “TWG is not considering a sale of the Cadillac team or any other part of TWG Motorsport,” he said, adding that TWG Motorsports CEO Dan Towriss was in Washington, D.C. for the IndyCar race weekend.

The rumors had grown around Walter, the CEO of TWG Global, whose TWG Motorsports business holds the controlling stake in Cadillac F1. Walter recently sold his Lakers stake for a reported $12.5 billion, roughly 14 months after agreeing to buy it for $10 billion, and that fueled reports that other sports assets including Chelsea, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Cadillac F1 could also be put on the market.

That speculation comes against a far bigger backdrop. Walter is tied to a U.S. Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into alleged undisclosed related-party loans between companies in his business empire. Reports have described between $16 billion and $20 billion from insurance companies Delaware Life, Clear Spring and EquiTrust as having been routed through intermediary companies and opaque holding structures. No charges have been brought, and the Cadillac F1 team has not been implicated.

Budkowski said the issue never arose when he agreed to take over the team. “There was absolutely no discussion about that,” he said. “There is no doubt for me that there's no influence there.” He pointed to the team’s continued build-out as evidence of stability, adding: “The new factory, my appointment, there's key personnel that, hopefully, we will be able to announce soon as well. I think it just shows the commitment and the investment behind the project.”

The denial matters because Cadillac is still building toward its 2026 entry as Formula 1’s 11th team. TWG’s acquisition of Andretti in 2024 was described as a key step in winning approval from the FIA, Formula 1 and rival teams, so any doubt around the ownership structure cuts directly into one of the most important new projects on the grid.