Andretti. Hardly any other name stands for motorsport in the USA. The racing dynasty began with the successes of Mario Andretti: four-time Indycar champion and Formula 1 world champion in 1978. Andretti is now returning to the premier class: as a member of the supervisory board of the new GM/Cadillac team, which will compete in Formula 1 from 2026.
Mario Andretti told the US TV channel CBS that things are now going full throttle towards Formula 1. However, the one who has laid the foundations for this in recent years will be missing: Mario’s son Michael Andretti, also a successful racing driver and team owner in US racing series.
Economist: Formula 1 is looking for outstanding brands
He had worked for years to bring a team into Formula 1 under the name Andretti/Cadillac. However, Formula 1 brusquely rejected his application to become the eleventh team with a public statement at the beginning of the year. The team does not offer any added value for Formula 1.
“Formula 1 is looking for outstanding brands that can be there for many years and offer added value. “Which also means improving the show by being at the front,” explains Paolo Aversa. The economist conducts research at King’s College in London, among other things, on business strategies in Formula 1.
Formula 1 is getting a new works team from GM/Cadillac
The name Andretti is not enough for Formula 1. And Michael Andretti also left the project in October because there were said to be personal disputes between him and leading Formula 1 officials.
Instead, General Motors is committing to doing significantly more than originally planned. The largest US car manufacturer is building its own car for 2026 – a good time because the regulations are changing this season and all teams have to develop new cars. And from 2028, GM also wants to produce its own drive unit.
Formula 1 gets what it wants: a new works team.
Not much resistance from established teams
A good development, says former Mercedes-Benz motorsport boss Norbert Haug.
“I am a friend of competition and that is why – unlike many team bosses – I always welcome the eleventh team. Of course you like to keep to yourself, there is a very simple mathematical calculation: A billion divided by ten, there is a little left for the individual like a billion divided by eleven.”
Part of the Formula 1 revenue is distributed to the participating teams, depending on their placement in the constructors’ championship. The fact that the established teams have now decided not to put up any major resistance is a good sign for Paolo Aversa.
Formula 1 hopes for increasing revenues through GM/Cadillac
“That means the pie in Formula 1 is getting bigger. The established teams are optimistic that the new racing team will make the pie bigger so that everyone gets a bigger piece.”
In the medium term, GM/Cadillac could ensure that Formula 1 generates higher revenues through media rights and sponsorships in the growing US market. But the established teams aren’t relying on that: GM will pay a signing fee of several hundred million dollars, which will be paid out equally to all other teams.
An investment of several hundred million dollars for GM
Added to this are the costs of developing the car. But these have now been capped. The teams can spend around $215 million on the development of the new cars for the 2026 season.
At the moment it is expensive, but it is not as incredibly high as it was a few years ago. And in return you get visibility and potential for technical development. It’s a good time to get involved, that’s why there’s so much interest, says Formula 1 expert Aversa.
In fact, General Motors is not the only manufacturer using the new regulations for the 2026 season to get started. Honda and Ford return as engine suppliers, Audi joins in as an independent team by purchasing the Sauber racing team.
Cost caps have made profits possible for Formula 1 teams
The manufacturers have recognized that thanks to the cost cap, it is now entirely possible to even make money in the long term. Norbert Haug, for example, points out that the Mercedes Formula 1 team made more than $100 million in profit in 2023.
“However, before you earn the money that Mercedes earns in Formula 1, you have to go a long way and be very successful.”
Formula 1 offers GM the opportunity to build a new image
When Mercedes entered Formula 1, the goal was different: namely to sell cars. Motorsport was an instrument to position Mercedes on the market. “For us, motorsport wasn’t just ‘buzz buzz’ and who gets the biggest trophy, but who gets the most customers?”
Audi and GM now also have the same goal, says Haug. Economist Paolo Aversa also shares this assessment.
“You don’t become the most famous car manufacturer in the world because you produce the most cars. You become the world’s largest manufacturer of what the cars mean. If they represent mass production, that means visibility but not appeal. The only way to achieve attraction is to win races at the highest level.”
Experts believe GM/Cadillac can produce a competitive car
Both Aversa and Haug believe GM/Cadillac can do this, although not immediately. It takes experience to bring all the trades together into a team and also to deal with setbacks, says Haug.
“Above all, there must be no so-called fingerpointing, as they say in English. The engine is good, but the chassis is bad – or vice versa. That will now be the big challenge for Cadillac and Audi.”
But one thing is already certain: from 2026, more car brands will be competing in Formula 1 than in a long time.