Formula 1’s lukewarm response to Andretti-Cadillac’s entry bid is “all about greed”, Michael Andretti claims.
Earlier this month, FIA president Mohamed ben Sulayem opened up “Expressions of Interest” for potential new teams to join the F1 grid.
Andretti, who has been publicly pushing for an 11th spot for well over a year now, responded by announcing a new partnership with General Motors via their Cadillac brand.
It was hoped this tie-up would be the final piece that convinced F1 teams to accept their bid, but instead, it was revealed nine of the 10 current outfits were opposed, while F1 themselves hardly welcomed the Andretti-Cadillac news with enthusiasm.
“There is great interest in the F1 project at this time with a number of conversations continuing that are not as visible as others,” a statement read.
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“We all want to ensure the championship remains credible and stable and any new entrant request will be assessed on criteria to meet those objectives by all the relevant stakeholders.
“Any new entrant request requires the agreement of both F1 and the FIA.”
Among the team bosses, Mercedes chief Toto Wolff has been the main critic of Andretti’s bid, arguing they don’t bring enough value to F1 to warrant expanding the current grid.
And even now with the addition of the biggest automotive company in the world, the Austrian’s view appears unchanged.
“With Cadillac and GM, that’s a statement,” Wolff was quoted by RacingNews365.com.
“Them joining forces with Andretti is definitely a positive, it gives it another angle that may or may not be beneficial for Formula 1.
“Nobody would ever question GM’s or Cadillac’s pedigree in motorsport, and as a global auto company.”
After issuing the ‘Expressions of Interest’ call, FIA president Sulayem also voiced his disappointment at F1’s unenthusiastic tone.
“It is surprising that there has been some adverse reaction to the Cadillac and Andretti news,” he wrote on Twitter.
“The FIA has accepted the entries of smaller, successful organisations in recent years. We should be encouraging prospective F1 entries from global manufacturers like GM and thoroughbred racers like Andretti and others.
“Interest from teams in growth markets adds diversity and broadens F1’s appeal.”
As for Michael Andretti, he believes the Andretti-Cadillac bid now “checks all the boxes” for F1 approval and dismissed suggestions that GM’s involvement via Cadillac was merely a “badging exercise”.
“It’s a rumour – it’s not true – Cadillac will be very much involved in the manufacturing of the car,” he told Forbes.
“If we get in, in 2025, there won’t be a new engine yet, so we would have to go with a formula that is used now, but in 2026 there are various things we can do with another engine manufacturer.
“It would not be a badged engine because there would be intellectual property from Cadillac in that engine, so that is not a badged engine.”
He then went on to scathe the negative reaction from F1’s current teams…
“I’m not surprised,” Andretti said. “In Formula 1, the owners look out for themselves; not what is best for the series.
“That is the difference between President Mohamed’s position and the team owners’ position. President Mohamed is looking out for the future of the sport.
“Mohamed gets it. He’s a racer and he understands the series needs to have one or two more teams. It is an FIA championship, and it holds most of the cards to get the expression of interest going.
“Stefano [Domenicali, Formula 1 CEO] was very happy when we brought up the name, Cadillac. It’s going to be huge for Formula 1 as well.
“Formula 1 is growing so much in the United States, to bring General Motors and Cadillac into Formula 1 was very big for all sides considered.
“It’s a powerful thing to bring Formula 1 into the United States.
“[For the team owners], it’s all about money,” he added.
“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.
“It’s all about greed and looking at themselves and not looking at what is best for the overall growth of the series.”