Formula 1 might soon have 22 cars on the grid, with Andretti inching closer and closer to realizing their aspiration of making their way into the pinnacle of motorsport. GM Motorsports, the parent company of Cadillac, has claimed that they expect to hear from FIA about their joint application with Andretti within the 15th of July.
Michael Andretti, the head of Andretti Motorsports, has been trying to make an entry into F1 since 2021; after failing to purchase Sauber, the American motorsport company tied up with GM Motorsports via their Cadillac brand at the start of this year. It is understood that Andretti will be running the team’s operations, and Cadillac would be manufacturing engines for them.
After trying for years, F1 has finally managed to tap into the US market, and the inclusion of Andretti will only help them more. This is because Andretti has made promises about always having at least one American driver in his team, which will help Americans connect with the sport even more.
Andretti Cadillac could soon get the official green light
The executive director of competition for GM Motorsports, Dr. Eric Warren, spoke to NBC Sports regarding the deadline for a reply from the FIA. Warren said, “They [FIA] are supposed to make a decision July 15. So we’re really just doing our best with the process and having discussions where we can.”
Warren revealed they have already started work on the F1 car with Andretti. He explained that since they aim to join F1 by 2025, there isn’t much time left to prepare for their grand entry. “We’ve been working on that [the car] because time is wasting,” said Warren.
According to another source, the FIA has already taken a decision regarding the entry applications submitted by the new teams. The source claims that two teams have been given the green light to proceed with their processing. One of those two teams should definitely be Andretti Cadillac.
F1 CEO happy with 20 cars on the grid
Andretti had received major resistance from the teams regarding their entry into F1. Most of the existing teams do not want another team joining the grid because that would dilute the revenue each team receives.
Even though there is an expansion fee of $200 Million that any new team entering F1 will have to pay, most of the teams are of the belief that it is nothing compared to the amount of revenue they would be losing out on.
Red Bull team boss Horner had explained the situation and said, “Well, who’s going to pay for it? And you can assume that the teams if they’re perceived to be the ones who are paying for it – or diluting their payments to accommodate it — of course, it’s not going to sit that well.”
Even F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali claimed that he was happy with how things stand currently. The Italian appeared in a recent episode of F1’s Beyond The Grid podcast, where he was asked if there is room for more teams in F1. Domenicali had said, “No, I believe that 20 cars are more than enough on the grid.” This would have been a major blow to Andretti, but as it seems, they still hold strong regarding their entry into F1.
