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Ford v GM: Andretti Cadillac approved for entry into Formula One racing
Posted by Talbot Payne on October 4, 2023
A Ford vs. General Motors rivalry in Formula One racing took another step closer to reality this week.
The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, Formula One’s governing body, approved Andretti Formula Racing’s application to join Formula One with General Motors Co.’s Cadillac luxury division a key partner. Of four applications to enter Formula One submitted last February, Andretti Cadillac was the only one approved by the FIA, a key endorsement of the team’s credibility as it takes on motorsport behemoths like Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull.
Ford Motor Co.’s partnership with Red Bull, announced earlier this year, did not need approval as Red Bull is the sport’s reigning champion and Ford will have a drivetrain contract with the team. By contrast, Andretti Cadillac is the equivalent of an NFL expansion team and has a lot of work to do to put together a competitive team.
“Andretti Cadillac is honored that the FIA has approved Andretti Formula Racing’s Expression of Interest for the Formula One World Championship,” said Andretti Cadillac in a statement. “The formation of this distinctly American team is an important moment of pride for all our employees and fans. We feel strongly that Andretti Cadillac’s deep racing competencies and the technological advancements that come from racing will benefit our customers while heightening enthusiasm for F1, globally.”
The FIA’s approval makes it likely that Andretti Cadillac will clear the final hurdle — an agreement with Formula One Management, the series’ commercial rights holder — to officially qualify for the globe-trotting, 24-race series.
Andretti Formula Racing is one of IndyCar’s most successful teams and is captained by Michael Andretti, a former Formula One driver and Indy car racing champion. He is the son of Mario Andretti, a former Formula One champion and Indy car champion. The Andretti family is perhaps the best known name in American motorsport. If not as accomplished as Ford in international motorsport, Cadillac also has a credible motorsports history and has been a consistent IMSA sportscar championship contender and scored a third place at this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans in France.
“The FIA was very clear in establishing stringent criteria for entry from the outset of the Expressions of Interest procedure,” said FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem. “Our objective, after rigorous due diligence during the application phase, was to only approve prospective entries which satisfied the set criteria and illustrated that they would add value to the sport. Andretti Formula Racing was the only entity which fulfills the selection criteria that was set in all material respects.”
While Andretti Cadillac’s application has received some blowback from the existing 10 teams on the Formula One grid because it could cut into their share of F1’s financial pie, the addition of two major American brands is a coup for the sport, especially as it expands in the United States, the world’s richest marketplace.
Formula One has a record three Grand Prix in the States this year — Miami, Austin and Las Vegas — as interest in the sport exploded across the United States in the aftermath of the successful “Drive to Survive” Netflix television series.
“Andretti is clearly up to the task of Formula One,” said Jake Boxall-Legge, who covers Formula One for Autosport, on Motorsport TV. “Moving (GM) into F1 would be a huge positive, simply as a foil for Ford. We’ve seen the Ford vs, GM battle battle play out in Australian supercar (sportscar series), and it could play out in F1 as well. It’s what a lot of people want to see. It would be an interesting undercurrent.”
Ford’s partnership with Red Bull will begin with the 2026 race year as the series moves to more battery-intensive drivetrain and Red Bull intends on leveraging the Blue Oval’s manufacturing experience. The 2026 season brings significant regulatory changes as the sport moves towards a fully-electric future. Teams will use complex hybrid units that drink synthetic fuels and split their 1,000 horsepower drivetrains 50-50 between a V-6 gas engine and 350kW electric motor.
That dovetails with industry and government ambitions for more electrified production drivetrains.
Andretti Cadillac, according to Racer.com, will target an entry for the 2025 season (assuming approval from commercial rights holder) to get the team’s feet wet in the sport before the 2026 regulations kick in. Speculation is that Andretti Cadillac will contract with Renault for its power unit while Cadillac will play a major financial and marketing role.
In addition to the massive global television mega-audience of 445 million people and its growing interest in the United States, GM and Ford want into F1 because the sport’s 2026 driveline changes dovetail with their plans to go all-electric in the next decade. The dueling Detroit entities are committing resources to a sport where over $1 billion is required to develop a powerplant and top teams consume $500 million annual budgets.
“(GM) is a huge car company, and F1 is constantly trying to attract car manufacturers,” said Autosport’s Boxall-Legge. “It’s been short of them for some time; we’ve had four manufacturers doing the engines since 2015. The 2026 regs will bring two more manufacturers in with Ford and Audi (and) F1 is always trying to attract more as a way of attracting more industry money, more industry expertise.”
Honda, Red Bull/Ford, Mercedes and Audi are already on the list of FIA-approved engine suppliers for 2026. Andretti Cadillac in the next few months will move to the final stage of F1 approval. “It would require something strong not to let them into F1,” said Boxall-Legge, who noted that the 2026 regulations allow for an expansion of the current F1 grid from 20 cars to 26.
“We look forward to engaging with all of the stakeholders in Formula One as we continue our planning to join the grid as soon as possible,” said Andretti Cadillac.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.