Andretti Cadillac Continues F1 Bid, Wants Meeting With Formula One Management

Formula One turned down the team's application last month. Both Andretti and Cadillac want another opportunity to plead their case.

On a weekend dedicated to NASCAR racing in Daytona, Florida, the word is that the Andretti Cadillac team is actively trying to keep its Formula One application on track. The Associated Press is reporting that the team is trying to schedule a meeting with Formula One Management. As I reported last month, Formula One said in January that it was rejecting the teams’ attempt to join the racing league. F1 said in its statement that it doubted that the team would be capable of being competitive in the international racing series by 2025.

Andretti Cadillac’s Formula One Bid

Andretti Cadillac hopes to become the 11th team in F1 in 2025. F1 doubts that the team is capable of being competitive in the international racing series by 2025. F1 did say that it may reconsider the team’s request if Cadillac starts building its own engine in 2028. Mario Andretti said on X, formerly known as Twitter, “I'm devastated.  I won't say anything else because I can't find any other words besides devastated.” Mario Andretti is the 1978 F1 world champion. Mario’s son Michael competed in 13 races in the 1993 season. It came to light after the rejection that F1 asked the Andretti Cadillac team for a private meeting, but the request was sent to a spam folder. F1 never sent a follow up or contacted the team directly. Now, the Andretti Cadillac team wants to schedule that meeting and plead their case.

According to the AP, the director of GM Racing was asked about it at the Daytona International Speedway and Jim Campbell said the company remains steadfast in the strength of its application.

“We feel great about our application. The FIA studied it against other applicants and then gave our application a vote of confidence and approval,” Campbell said. “So obviously (Formula One Management) made their statement, and we have asked for a follow up meeting with FOM and so we will work through that.

“We do believe between Andretti and Cadillac that we have got the capability of fielding a competitive entry. We are not saying that it is easy, but we do between our two organizations have examples in our history of where we have been successful in other motorsports categories and that is true of Cadillac and Andretti. Our joint teams are continuing to develop our car at pace. So, that is where we are at,” he explained.

Campbell also said that GM could build an engine for Andretti for the 2026 season, but because it had not initially planned to be a power unit supplier, it did not apply to be one when the new engine regulations begin in two years.

“When you register to be a power unit, there is a deadline to do that, and for us it was last June for 2028,” Campbell said. “If you wanted to develop an engine sooner, then you would have had to register the previous year for that. So, it´s simply a regulation.”

Andretti Team Not Warmly Welcomed by Other Teams

The Andretti Cadillac proposal was encouraged by the head of F1, but other teams seemed reluctant to share the track or the revenue with a newcomer. As I reported in November, Cadillac tried to bolster its bid by announcing that it had registered with F1’s governing body to become an engine supplier starting in 2028. That made the team’s acceptance look more likely because American fans are more interested in the sport now. There are three F1 races in the U.S.  The 2024 races are scheduled for Miami Grand Prix on May 5; the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, on October 20; and the Las Vegas Grand Prix on November 23.

F1 says it might reconsider once Cadillac and GM actually start building F1 engines. “We would look differently on an application for the entry of a team into the 2028 championship with a GM power unit, either as a GM works team or as a GM customer team designing all allowable components in-house,” F1 said. “In this case there would be additional factors to consider in respect of the value that the applicant would bring to the championship, in particular in respect of bringing a prestigious new OEM (original equipment manufacturer) to the sport as a PU supplier.”

GM’s Campbell says the company is confident in its ability to compete. “As I said, we believe in the application we submitted and in that application we articulated the abilities of both Andretti as a race team, and Cadillac as a manufacturing and engineering entity,” Campbell said. “So, we feel confident in the application and are asking for a meeting with FOM.”

GM has an extensive racing program with Chevrolet Corvettes, Camaros, trucks and Cadillacs competing and winning in various racing leagues.GM is also prominent in the IndyCar Racing League. 

Cadillac Photo

Mary Conway is a professional automotive journalist and has decades of experience specializing in automotive news analysis. She covered the Detroit Three for more than twenty years for the ABC affiliate, in Detroit. Her affection for the Motor City comes naturally. Her father ran a gas station while Mary was growing up, in Wisconsin.

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