Yahoo Autos Andretti Cadillac Is Not Giving Up on F1 Just Yet
Michael Andretti has been openly seeking a spot on the Formula 1 grid since he attempted to acquire a team in 2021. That eventually ballooned into a major partnership with General Motors and a staff that had already begun development on a race car for 2025, but Formula One Management announced today that the group's bid for a spot on the 2025 and 2026 grids has been rejected. That is the end of the bid as we know it, but a statement from Andretti Cadillac suggests that the partnership has not given up on its fight to make the F1 grid yet.
In the statement, the joint venture notes that "Andretti Cadillac has reviewed the information Formula One Management Limited has shared and strongly disagree with its contents. Andretti and Cadillac are two successful global motorsports organizations committed to placing a genuine American works team in F1, competing alongside the world's best. We are proud of the significant progress we have already made on developing a highly competitive car and power unit with an experienced team behind it, and our work continues at pace."
The statement suggests that Andretti and GM have not necessarily given up on racing in F1 in 2025, let alone in the near future. The avenues that the team would have to race in the next few years are unclear, but the FOM announcement did leave the door open for a new application with a complete GM power unit in 2028. Any spot on the grid prior to that date would presumably involve an outside court, some sort of previously unknown negotiation with FOM, or another application process that somehow ends differently.
Notably, the section of the announcement that suggested GM apply again in 2028 did not mention the Andretti team that filed this application. Michael Andretti's team has won four IndyCar championships, six Indianapolis 500s, and one title in Formula E, but the oddly insulting FOM statement suggested that the team would not have been able to produce a competitive Formula 1 car.
Michael Andretti and Andretti team co-owner Dan Towriss have not yet personally commented on the decision. Mario Andretti, Michael's father and the 1978 Formula 1 World Champion among other things, took to social media earlier today to say "I'm devastated. I won't say anything else because I can't find any other words besides devastated."
You Might Also Like
