The American car manufacturer General Motors wants to enter Formula 1 together with Andretti Global of racing driver Michael Andretti.
The two companies announced this. They did not give an exact start date. “We’ll be on track as fast as it makes sense,” said Michael Andretti, son of racing legend Mario Andretti. They are confident that it will be soon.
“First step on the historical path”
“Today is the first step on the historic path that General Motors will hopefully start in Formula 1,” said GM President Mark Reuss. A corresponding declaration of intent is to be filed with the International Automobile Association as soon as the process is formally opened. The team will start under the GM brand Cadillac, it would be called Andretti Cadillac. This would increase the starting field of Formula 1 to eleven racing teams. Andretti would be the second US team alongside Haas.
Only at the beginning of the week did Fia President Mohammed bin Sulayem emphasize that the association would be looking for new teams. It was also a clear signal to the racing teams that had shown themselves to be less enthusiastic about a possible newcomer and eleventh team.
More teams, less money
Formula 1 therefore pointed out that not only the FIA but also the racing series itself must be convinced that a new entry must be “stable”. The established racing teams also do not want any thoughtless increase in the premier class, which currently consists of ten teams – also because this initially reduces the income for each individual team. Audi, for example, which will join in 2026, will not provide a new racing team: the German brand is joining the traditional Sauber team.
A joint entry by Andretti and Cadillac would be another expression of the boom on the US market. Next year there will be three races in the States for the first time, with Las Vegas joining Austin and Miami. There is already a US team: Haas, from 2023 racing team of the German Nico Hülkenberg, also maintains a factory in England and technically works very closely with Ferrari.