Andretti aims for F1 with Cadillac and General Motors

Andretti is definitely not giving up. Just a few days later the announcement of FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem indicating that the watchdog of international motorsport was seeking to attract new teams by Formula 1, the American structure took the lead.

During a press conference organized this Thursday afternoon, Michael Andretti appeared before the media, accompanied by a distinguished guest: Mark L Reuss, President of General Motors (GM).

Andretti has reiterated his desire to join F1 in the near future. For that, the American group joins forces with Cadillac, one of GM's flagships. The former champion IndyCar did not give a specific date, simply saying that the team was aiming for a " when it makes sense ».

« We continue to grow Andretti Global and its group of racing teams and look to the future, Andretti said. I believe we are well placed to form a new Formula 1 team. We believe we can bring value to the sport and its partners, while boosting fan interest.

I am proud to have GM and Cadillac on our side in this endeavor. GM and Andretti share a heritage built on a love of auto racing. We now have the opportunity to combine our passion for motorsports and our commitment to innovation to build a true American F1 project.

Together, we will continue to follow the procedures put in place by the FIA ​​as part of its evaluation process. We continue to prepare with optimism in the hope that Andretti Cadillac will be officially accepted as a Formula 1 team ».

Two icons. One pursuit. 💪

Andretti Autosport is delighted to support the news of Andretti Global and General Motors with @Cadillac, two American powerhouses coming together to pursue the opportunity to compete in the @FIA @F1 World Championship#CadillacVSeries #AllAndretti

— Andretti INDYCAR & INDY NXT (@AndrettiIndy) January 5, 2023

« General Motors is honored to partner with Andretti Global on this historic day for racing, added Mark Reuss. We have a long and successful history in motorsport and engineering innovation. We are excited about the prospect of forming an American Formula 1 team with Andretti Global. We think it can generate even more enthusiasm for the discipline among fans.

Both Cadillac and F1 are global brands. Our firm's involvement in motorsport dates back more than a century. We would be proud to have this opportunity to bring our typically American sense of innovation and design to F1. ».

During his press conference, Andretti confided that Colton Herta would be one of the established drivers in the event of a green light from the competent authorities. The 22-year-old Californian was long expected to debut in F1 with Alpha Tauri in 2023 but he does not yet have the Federal Super License, an essential key to racing in Grands Prix.

The FIA ​​delighted, F1 much less

Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who opened the door to the arrival of new teams through a simple tweet earlier in the week, naturally welcomed such an announcement.

« I welcome with great pleasure the announcement of the partnership between Cadillac and Andretti, reacted the president of the FIA, still on Twitter. The FIA ​​looks forward to continuing discussions as part of its Expression of Interest process.

I welcome the news of the @Cadillac and @FollowAndretti partnership and the @FIA looks forward to further discussions on the FIA @F1 World Championship Expressions of Interest process pic.twitter.com/LQgbYDW0qM

- Mohammed Ben Sulayem (@Ben_Sulayem) January 5, 2023

Today's announcement highlights the popularity and growth of the FIA ​​Formula 1 World Championship in the United States. It's particularly pleasing to see the interest in sports from such iconic brands as General Motors Cadillac and Andretti Global.

Any new team will be authorized to join F1 on the basis of the acceptance of the 2026 engine regulations by the various manufacturers, a regulation which has already convinced Audi to join F1 (with Sauber from 2026, Editor’s note). Any Declaration of Interest will be made within the framework of a strict FIA protocol which will take several months ».

When it comes to F1, on the other hand, enthusiasm is much more measured, if not completely absent.

« There is a lot of interest in F1 at the moment and many (other) conversations continue behind the scenes and are therefore not visible, said a spokesperson for the premier category.

We want to ensure that the championship remains credible and stable. Any application will be studied by the various stakeholders based on the criteria necessary to meet these objectives.

Any new applications must receive approval from F1 and the FIA ».

It’s hard to be less excited…

Once again, F1 seems particularly annoyed by the method of the FIA, which took the initiative as it did when unveiling the 1 F2023 calendar. Without initially including the Sprint races, on top of that, while it is one of F1's workhorses to boost revenues.

Between the two authorities, the argument has been burning for a while and it is not the developments of the last few days that will be likely to ease tensions...

The current teams are not left out since a large majority (8 out of 10) are against the arrival of new teams, for fear of seeing their share of F1 revenues mechanically decrease.

Case to follow.