General Motors has been in the thick of the battle to break into Formula One racing, and it might just happen, thanks to a partnership with Cadillac and Andretti Global, which has shown promise thus far.
However, according to a recent report from AP, GM was allegedly asked to consider teaming up with an entity other than Andretti. In fact, the automaker was approached by the F1 sanctioning body itself with the request. GM, of course, did not heed the inquiry, and has moved forward with plans to compete in F1 with Andretti at the helm.
The last time team owner Michael Andretti competed in F1 was three decades ago in 1993, during which he competed in 13 races without much to show for it. Obviously, he wants to turn things around, and has been relentlessly pursuing an F1 bid alongside GM.
GM’s application proceeded to the next stage, having been approved by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), with the Cadillac Andretti team being the only one of four to have advanced this far. The process began in February 2023 when the FIA asked for “Expressions of Interest” from teams interested in becoming the 11th F1 team.
For the next phase, GM and Andretti are seeking approval from F1 itself, which has apparently been rather slow with its response. F1 indicated that it would “now conduct our own assessment of the merits of the (Andretti) application,” but has provided no further updates regarding the status of the application.
Andretti Global has already built a race car with intent to test in the near future, putting it through its paces at a wind tunnel in Germany, demonstrating that it is serious about competing. Additionally, Andretti himself and representatives of his race team attended the Texas Grand Prix earlier this year to kick up interest – even though F1 itself doesn’t seem to want him around.
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Comments
Why would GM and Andretti, kiss F1’s ass to join? F1 should be snapping at the bit, to get new blood. The cost of all kinds of racing it out of sight. Forget bout F1. They are nothing but a bunch of snob nosed ass holes any way.
Harlie
What an ignorant person. The term is “chomping at the bit” and then to top it off to use foul language to emphasize his point of view.
Gm and Cadillac are looking to expand it’s products in Europe and seem to think this effort will put their name out there thru Michael Andretti’s efforts.
As I see the problem it’s the existing teams that don’t want the competition of a large player with deep pockets. The F1 management wants new blood plus the millions and millions it takes to pay off the F1 management team.
I don’t see America’s interest in F1 so much. We have Indy Cars, lots of Nascar configurations, midgets, and tons of roundy round tracks thru out America’s heartland.
So the Euros who cower and quiver before their muzlim immigrants think they are superior to “Made in Detroit” ?
Why don’t we settle it on the Track !
While I would love to see Cadillac in F1, after reading all of the negative feedback about a US based company entering F1, screw it! The existing teams are whining about the pie being divided into smaller pieces and F1 leadership hates America but wants our money. I see no upside to Cadillac and Andretti competing in F1.
There is already a US based company in F1: Haas, officially “MoneyGram Haas F1 Team”.
[quote]
Haas Formula LLC,[6] competing as MoneyGram Haas F1 Team,[7][8] is an American-licensed[9] Formula One racing team established by NASCAR Cup Series team co-owner Gene Haas in April 2014. The team originally intended to make its debut at the start of the 2015 season[10][11] but later elected to postpone their entry until the 2016 season.[12] The team principal is Guenther Steiner.
The team is headquartered in Kannapolis, North Carolina, United States – 31 mi (50 km) from Charlotte[1] – alongside sister team and NASCAR entrant Stewart-Haas Racing, though the two teams are separate entities. The team also established a forward base in Banbury, England, to turn cars around between races during the European part of the calendar.[2]
[/quote]
from Wikipedia
What did Mikey do to piss them off so much?
The UN pales in comparison to the politics that play out in F1. Between the FIA (governing body), the Formula One Group (that owns the commercial rights) and the Drivers Association it’s so wonder there’s any racing at all.
The FIA determines the rules and number of entrants and wants GM/Andretti in. It’s the F1 Group that doesn’t want them in and they technically don’t get a vote but they do have to agree in principle. Therein lies the rub.
It’s well known Stefano Domenicali who heads the Formula One Group (background at Lamborghini and Ferrari) hates the Andretti’s for whatever reason. Thus the reason F1 asked GM to drop the Andretti’s to assure a spot on the grid making it very obvious it’s personal. Maybe some Italian thing…who knows.
Mikey was a part time participant in his F1 effort. He tried to live in the USA and fly over to race. He never properly tested his cars and was an embarrassment in his performances for the single season he participated. Definitely not his father!
This is a truly staggering indictment of F1 teams. A request like this for a corporate hack at GM would trigger all sorts of ethics violations and red flags.
Of course, GM was going to say no Jose to such a request. They would not violate any anti-trust laws and anti-corruption laws in these United States.
F1 is looking more and more like a Cicilan organization to me, or perhaps Kobe Yakuza type outfit.
I would love to see Cadillac in Formula One. Formula One is such a great technical class. It would give me more incentive to buy tickets for expensive Circuit of the Americas events. However, I would need to know more about who makes up the Andretti team. Then, I would like to see one or two other American teams who could organize for the endeavor. The Andretti’s haven’t been in the thick of professional racing for some time, so maybe GM could reach into one of the other racing leagues for talent. The Racers Group (TRG) has competed in ALMS and was a GM factory team when the GTO was reintroduced in 2004-2006. This is my thought.