There had been a lot of opposition against Andretti in the last two years. Many team principals, including arch-rivals Christian Horner and Toto Wolff, united on the matter that Andretti’s entry to the sport won’t be financially and competitively feasible.
A lot of team bosses opined that they did not wish to let in an 11th team on the grid, which could dilute their prize money. After a lot of reports about anti-dilution fees, the questions about Andretti’s competitiveness among other factors, they finally found success when General Motors and Cadillac took the lead to put the team’s proposal as a works outfit.
An 11th team is coming to Formula 1
General Motors x Cadillac pic.twitter.com/dqQdjzBvxN
— Motorsport.com (@Motorsport) November 25, 2024
The Formula One Management (FOM) accepted this, as this was a GM-Cadillac works entry, which as per Horner was hard to turn down. The Red Bull team principal talked about his openness to welcome Cadillac to the F1 grid in 2026 in an exclusive with ESPN. Horner stated that it would have been “short-sighted” of the teams and the FOM to refuse a Cadillac works team.
“For us [Red Bull], it’s exciting. Ford vs. GM, a potential battle in years to come, it could be iconic. We will welcome them to the grid and look forward to seeing them in 2026,” he added.
The 51-year-old was referring to how Red Bull has already partnered with Ford for an engine partnership. There has already been a lot of anticipation about Ford’s return to F1 after 20+ years. So, if they can have battles with another American automobile giant like GM, that would certainly prove quite a big billing clash for F1.
Ford is helping Red Bull build its indigenous engines for the 2026 regulations, the same year when Cadillac will debut on the grid. However, GM’s own engine program will have to wait until 2028.
How did Cadillac turn around Andretti’s ship?
The FOM rejected Andretti’s application to enter F1 due to various reasons. One of them was their doubts over the team’s financial feasibility. However, they did not mention anything about the prize pot dilution, which was clearly one of the major factors.
On top of that, they wanted to have a works team like GM-Cadillac over having the private brand of the Andretti family. Michael Andretti’s aggressive approach did not please the key stakeholders of the sport either. Moreover, Andretti were certain to be a customer outfit as GM’s engine program was anyways going to take time.
But as soon as Cadillac became the face of that entry, the FOM’s perspective changed as they had promised to view a works 2028 entry by the American manufacturer differently. While they will still be using Ferrari engines for the initial two or three seasons, FOM feels that the GM-Cadillac entry as a works team is much better for the long-term promotion of the sport in the USA.
Moreover, naturally, Michael stepping away from the project was a major behind-the-scenes move that helped GM-Cadillac get the green light for a 2026 entry. So, all in all, Cadillac’s team is just Andretti in disguise, but with a different leadership with no Michael and hands-on involvement from GM.
