General Motors has announced that it will partner with Andretti Global, which wants to enter F1, and use the company’s brand Cadillac to cooperate with entry as “Andretti Cadillac”.
Michael Andretti tried to enter F1 by buying the Sauber F1 Team for 2021, but talks fell apart at the last minute when the Sauber Group wanted to retain control of the team.
After that, Michael Andretti announced that he would launch his own F1 team and aim to participate in F1 in 2024, but the reaction of the F1 world was cold.
F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has been dismissive of the entry of independent F1 teams, saying adding F1 teams is “not the most important factor”. F1 teams are also concerned that the number of new teams will reduce their share of revenue. Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff has also said he was against Andretti’s entry, saying he doesn’t need a new team unless it’s his big name carmaker.
So Michael Andretti moved to win an F1 entry by backing General Motors, a major American automaker.
However, the F1 team may have the name of a car manufacturer called Andretti Cadillac on the signboard, but General Motors / Cadillac is not registered as a manufacturer in the 2026 F1 regulations and does not manufacture power units. Absent. Probably just putting a Cadillac badge on a Renault power unit.
What F1 wants is to participate as a “manufacturer” that manufactures chassis or engines for automobile manufacturers, and this F1 participation plan, which is almost a title sponsor, is essentially Andretti Global. There is not much difference from the original plan to manufacture a chassis and install Renault’s F1 engine.
This is similar to the current Alfa Romeo F1 team, which enters as the naming sponsor of the Sauber F1 team. Alfa Romeo insists on technical collaboration, but in reality it is only changing the coloring of the F1 machine and team equipment, and sending a few people as team staff. Alfa Romeo CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato says he believes his partnership with Sauber F1 Team has yielded “the best return on investment on the planet”.
General Motors may be getting more involved in F1 team operations, but has not made any mention of buying a stake in the team. At best, the initial involvement will be in the form of seconding people to the Andretti-Cadillac board.
However, there are signs that this may change in the future. General Motors president Mark Reuss claims the partnership goes “beyond the Cadillac livery.”
General Motors has grown its interest in racing in recent years. It has been a mainstay of the American racing scene through IndyCar and IMSA, but the decision to bring the new LMDh Cadillac to the World Endurance Championship shows the company’s desire to go further.
Mark Reuss says there are a number of reasons why considering a move to F1 has been “pretty difficult” in the past. Under Barack Obama, the US government had to provide bailouts to keep his GM alive. But things changed, and Q3 2022 revenue he hit a new record of $41.9 billion, showing the strength of the group.
Mark Reuss has clarified that Andretti will have full access to all of General Motors’ race facilities.
“General Motors’ vast engineering resources will bring proven success and valuable contributions to this partnership,” said Mark Reuss.
“This includes all the talent and capabilities of GM Racing’s staff and facilities in Michigan, Warren Tech Center and North Carolina, as well as the expertise of our engineers and designers in areas such as combustion, battery technology, turbocharging and vehicle integration. The list keeps growing.”
As Mark Reuss said, General Motors’ plans with Andretti could go deeper through a technical partnership aimed at bringing the F1 team to the top.
Prior to this announcement, the prospect of adding Andretti to the grid seemed less than exciting to F1 shareholders. Certainly another team would be better suited to the sport in the sense that he has two more cars, two more drivers and therefore more action on the track. But F1 already has an all-American F1 team, Haas F1 Team, and competing with established manufacturers offers nothing new.
But the presence of General Motors through Cadillac might change things. F1 wants to be the series that the world’s biggest car makers aspire to participate in. With Ferrari, Mercedes and Renault in the mix, Honda is looking to get back into the game fully after a soft exit at the end of 2021 when it maintained a technical relationship with Red Bull.
Audi is coming in 2026. Porsche is still knocking on the door. Adding General Motors, especially with its economic strength and presence in America, seems like a good thing for F1.
Cadillac may not be the type of automaker that immediately conjures up speed and luxury, but it’s clear that General Motors wants to change that perception.
“A place I haven’t been in in a long time, or where I haven’t been in a long time, F1 will provide exposure for growth for Cadillac and the brand as we expand Cadillac into a global brand,” said Marc. Royce said.
After all, F1 is probably the best marketing tool for automakers.
There are still many hurdles for Andretti and Cadillac to make this happen, the biggest being the support from F1 and 10 teams. Mohamed bin Sulayem may have expressed enthusiasm about the plan, but this is not a decision the FIA makes alone.
As mentioned above, the current plan is not to have an automaker manufacturer participate in the race, but to add General Motors/Cadillac as a marketing partner to Andretti Global’s original plan.
In fact, a statement from F1 emphasized interest from many parties, with Andretti and Cadillac not being named. He reminded that it was important for the championship to “remain credible” and that any decision would require agreement from both F1 and the FIA.
“At the moment there is a great deal of interest in the F1 project and there are many conversations going on that are less prominent than others,” F1 said in a statement.
“We all want the championship to remain credible and stable, and newcomer requests will be evaluated by all relevant stakeholders on the basis of criteria to achieve those objectives. Newcomer requests require the consent of both F1 and the FIA.”
