Andretti Global and General Motors/Cadillac Racing Team Up in F1 Pursuit

By
Keith Cornett
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5
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Andretti Global and General Motors/Cadillac Racing Team Up in F1 Pursuit

Photo Credit: General Motors


Color me jealous over Cadillac Racing and today’s announcement about teaming up with Andretti Global in an attempt to gain an opportunity to compete in the FIA Formula One World Championship. We always thought Corvette Racing’s place was rightfully in GT competition, but it still would have been fantastic to see Jake and the Corvette crossed flags running in F1.

Here is the joint announcement from Cadillac and Andretti Global:

Today Andretti Global and General Motors, two American powerhouses in the automotive and motorsport sectors, have announced their intent to pursue the opportunity to compete in the FIA Formula One World Championship. GM would be represented by the Cadillac brand. The Andretti Cadillac team would be based in the U.S. with a support facility in the U.K.

This reunites two iconic American companies with deep motorsports pedigrees and provides the opportunity to build on previous racing accomplishments while expanding international reach for both brands. F1 has seen consistent growth globally and most recently in the U.S. with 2023 races in Austin, Miami and Las Vegas.

The Andretti Cadillac team is planning to submit an Expression of Interest when the FIA opens the formal process. If selected, the team is seeking to compete as soon as practical with at least one American driver.

Cadillac V-Series has a legacy of success on the track in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and Pirelli World Challenge. Since 2017, Cadillac has been competing at the forefront of American sports car racing in IMSA, achieving numerous wins, podiums, and championships with the Cadillac DPi-V.R. Cadillac will continue in sports car racing with the all-new hybrid Cadillac V-LMDh, which will compete globally in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and FIA World Endurance Championship.

Andretti Global is a global racing enterprise and parent company to Andretti Autosport and other Andretti racing ventures. Andretti racing teams currently compete in seven different top-tier series worldwide and have found success in each avenue of competition.

Andretti and GM last paired for the return of Chevrolet to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES in 2012, together capturing nine wins across two seasons. The pairing additionally claimed the Driver, Team and Manufacturer titles in 2012.

Road and Track has some additional background info on the team-up.


Source:
Cadillac

Related:
RACER Speculates on Changes Coming to Corvette Racing’s IMSA, WEC Programs for 2023
WEC Drops GTE-Pro Class for 2023 and Introduces GT3 Premium Class for 2024
Is GM Actually Thinking About Dropping the Factory Corvette Racing Program?

 



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5 COMMENTS

  1. F1 will make this new partnership pay dearly to get a sniff of the most exclusive club in the world. Once in the club, how many years will it take to succeed? Mario won in Ferraris, but could a Max V win in a Cadillac? This will really be interesting! 🙂

  2. This is great for American motor racing and GM. Let’s all root for the home team to get a place in F1.

  3. Awesome, it’s about friggen time. Hopefully GM doesn’t screw it up. I will have to start watching F1 again.

  4. I’ll root for the home team, but the only thing Cadillac about this vehicle will be the emblem. The powerplant might be something we’ll see in a Corvette (e-ray?) based. And yes, even with Bernie gone, entry will be pricey, but if any American can navigate that mine field, it is Michael A.

  5. Groucho’s Clubhouse
    I have to wonder whether GM and Michael Andretti are now contemplating the famous Grouch Marx quote, “I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member.”

    Last week the news broke that General Motors would be teaming up with Andretti Autosports to field an all-American, Cadillac branded Formula One team. According to GM president Mark Reuss, “General Motors is honored to team with Andretti Global on this historic moment in racing. Cadillac and F1 both have growing global appeal. Our brand has a motorsports pedigree that’s more than a century in the making, and we would be proud to have the opportunity to bring our distinct American innovation and design to F1.” Wow, that’s big, right? Not only is GM one of the largest manufacturers in the world, with a long, illustrious racing pedigree, but amazingly, they have never so much as dipped a tow in the F1 waters, with any of their brands.

    And, as I wrote about in this space a month or two ago, Michael Andretti’s Andretti Autosports has only been around for just under 20 years, but now employs 17 full-time drivers, in seven international championships, is building a new 575,000-sq.ft. factory and has long held aspirations of adding a Formula One team as his eighth competitive series. Plus, for Andretti, I have to believe that this goes way beyond business potential. As the son of one of only two American F1 World Champions and as a frustrated F1 driver himself, making it in F1 has to be a Quixote-like mission for him.

    So, GM and Cadillac are fully on board. Andretti was so on board he was willing to front up the $200 million entry fee before GM even signed on. So, we’re good to go, right!? USA! USA! USA!…

    Uh, not so fast there. Despite this being one of the more solid, manufacturer backed efforts in decades. And, despite the fact that Formula One is desperate to broaden its U.S. appeal and fan base, there’s rumored to be a sizable amount of push back from the F1 grid as a whole. Why, you might ask? Money, of course. The addition of an Andretti entry would cut into the other teams’ shares of the annual prize fund. In a recent Forbes interview, Andretti laid it out like this, “It’s all about money. First, they think they are going to get diluted one-tenth of their prize money, but they also get very greedy thinking we will take all the American sponsors as well.” Keep in mind, in order to join this club, the other kids have to agree it’s OK. In order to be added, the FIA, the F1 licensing owner (Liberty Media) and the existing teams have to all sign off on it.

    I know Andretti has unfinished business in Formula One. And, I know Formula One is really the last bastion of racing that GM has to conquer. But they have to be asking themselves right now, “Is this a club we really want to join?”

    All the best,
    Casey Annis
    Editor-in-Chief
    [email protected]

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