Cadillac to join F1 grid in 2026, 13-year-old’s US$100k IPL deal, Newcastle get Hammered
US motor company to become 11th team to join Formula One, while West Ham ease pressure on under-fire boss Julen Lopetegui
That there is silly money thrown around professional sport these days is a given, although it is mostly confined to the US, where paying someone US$300 million to hit a ball isn’t considered unusual.
There isn’t the same amount of cash floating around the IPL, but there’s enough. Still, spending more than US$100,000 of it on a 13-year-old seems a bit extreme, even by Indian cricket standards.
Elsewhere, US money has talked again in Formula One, and Saudi cash continues to impact the Asian Champions League, but we’ll start with the petrol heads.
Drive to thrive
American car manufacturer Cadillac will become the eleventh team on the Formula One grid in 2026 after the sport’s owners gave their backing to the plan.
F1 said it had reached “an agreement in principle” with General Motors (GM), which owns Cadillac, to support bringing a team into the paddock. The new team’s cars are expected to be powered by Ferrari before it develops its own engines.
“It’s an honour for General Motors and Cadillac to join the world’s premier racing series, and we’re committed to competing with passion and integrity to elevate the sport for race fans around the world,” Mark Reuss, the GM president, said.
The US has become an increasingly important stop on the F1 tour. Monday’s announcement came less than 48 hours after the Las Vegas Grand Prix which, after Miami and Austin, was the third US race on the calendar.
A talented teen
Thirteen-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi became the youngest cricketer to be sold in an IPL auction on Monday, stealing the limelight from veteran fast bowlers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Deepak Chahar.
