Last Sunday at the Miami Grand Prix, the Cadillac Formula 1 team completed its home debut and its fourth ever Grand Prix. Despite not yet placing in the top 10, the motorsport’s newest team is already showing promise thanks to a combination of drivers’ Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas racing experience and technological innovation happening behind the wheel. Relevantly for us, 3D printing has been cited as a key driver of this innovation.
According to a recent release from 3D Systems, the Cadillac F1 team has been using seven of its stereolithography (SLA) 3D printers behind the scenes. Leading up to the team’s first Grand Prix in Australia, this fleet was put to work in the development of production parts as well as to accelerate critical wind tunnel testing. With tight deadlines to meet and achieving top performance as a key goal, 3D Systems’ technology was integral to the vehicle’s readiness.
“3D Systems was founded on innovation, pioneering the additive manufacturing industry and we are continuing to lead it into an era of high-precision, highly repeatable production at scale,” commented Elvis Perez, Senior Vice President of Sales at 3D Systems. “We are pleased that our work has enabled Cadillac Formula 1 team to enter the 2026 FORMULA 1 season despite the short timelines and strict qualification conditions.”
While we don’t have any insights into the specific parts that Cadillac F1 engineers 3D printed (whether for wind tunnel testing or end-use parts) we do know that it has leveraged a number of different materials, including Accura Xtreme White 200, an ultra-tough polymer often used for vacuum casting master patterns; Accura Xtreme Black functional prototyping resin; and Accura High Performance Composites (HPC). Notably, in its adoption of 3D printing, the F1 team worked closely with 3D Systems’ Application Innovation Group (AIG), a team of AM experts that co-develops AM solutions with customers. (As we covered very recently, AIG has also been a partner to BBI Autosport, an automotive tuning shop specializing in Porsche models.)
Now, the very fact that Cadillac now has a Formula 1 racing team is a milestone. The team is the first new entry into the sport in a decade and its participation marks the first time in a long time that two American teams have competed (the other being Haas). For obvious reasons, its debut on home soil last week was a big achievement. As Mark Reuss, president of General Motors (owner of Cadillac), said: “Our first Grand Prix in the United States is a landmark moment for Cadillac and General Motors. It will be a special experience for the team to race on home soil in Miami this week, and we look forward to all the excitement on and off the track.”
For both new and old F1 teams, additive manufacturing is becoming a vital development and production technology. A variety of AM technologies, both polymer and metal based, are enabling F1 engineers to develop performance- and safety- driven solutions with agility, something that is critical in the development of the world’s fastest cars. In fact, the use of AM has grown to such a degree that F1 organizers included a series of guidelines surrounding how AM can be applied in its 2026 Formula 1 Technical Regulations document. Among these guidelines are a series of approved materials and approved structures to be printed (including suspension uprights, exhaust assemblies, and more.)
GM-owned Cadillac has also embraced additive manufacturing outside of its F1 activities. For instance, the Cadillac CELESTIQ, a hand-built luxury electric sedan, integrates over 130 3D printed components, including a steering wheel component that is GM’s largest 3D printed metal production part to date. The very recently unveiled CT5-V Blackwing F1 Collector Series, the “most powerful Blackwing ever produced by Cadillac” also integrates a few 3D printed components, including an F1 logo shifter medallion and FIA logo under the center console trim.
