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Payne: Why Formula One stiff-armed Andretti Cadillac
Posted by Talbot Payne on February 5, 2024
Ford v General Motors will have to wait.
In a stinging rebuke, Formula One has dismissed the Andretti Cadillac entry for the 2025-27 seasons, citing the team’s lack of experience and brand value to the sport. F1, however, appeared more encouraging about an Andretti Cadillac entry for 2028 if General Motors Co. maintains its commitment to develop a hybrid powertrain required for competition in four years. Crosstown rival Ford Motor Co. has partnered with Formula One’s reigning superpower, Red Bull, on a hybrid power unit for 2028.
The decision came a year after Andretti Cadillac applied for entry into the world’s fastest, most-watched form of motorsport — and three months after GM registered with F1 to develop a hybrid “power unit” (F1 speak for powertrain) for the ‘28 season. Despite the endorsement in October from the FIA, Formula One’s rules-and-governing body, Formula One Management’s approval (the commercial entity made up of the sport’s 10 teams) was also required — and it continued the foot-dragging that had characterized previous months.
The prestigious body heaped scorn on the Andretti Cadillac effort, even as its players have proved themselves two of the premier motorsports competitors on the planet. GM won the IndyCar Manufacturer’s Cup and IMSA Weathertech sportscar championships in 2023 while the Andretti family name sits atop the Mt. Olympus of motorsports. Mario Andretti and his son, Michael, are two of the most decorated racers in motorsport while Michael has also built Andretti Autosport into a global powerhouse.
Nevertheless, FOM called Andretti Cadillac “a novice entrant” that gave “us reason to question their understanding of the scope of the challenge involved.”
“Formula One, as the pinnacle of world motorsport, represents a unique technical challenge to constructors of a nature that (Andretti Cadillac) has not faced in any other formula or discipline in which it has previously competed (and would not) be a competitive participant,” FOM said in a lengthy statement. “While the Andretti name carries some recognition for F1 fans, our research indicates that F1 would bring value to the Andretti brand rather than the other way around.”
Mario Andretti, who won a Formula One title and four IndyCar championships over his career, expressed his disappointment on X: “I’m devastated. I won’t say anything else because I can’t find any other words besides devastated.”
In a statement, GM pushed back hard on F1’s assessment, saying it “strongly disagreed with its content.” While F1 teams often seemed to focus their displeasure on the Andretti half of the Andretti Cadillac team, the FOM appeared to look more favorably on the idea of a manufacturer of GM’s might joining the grid in 2028 with an all-new hybrid powertrain.
F1 and GM ambitions dovetail over the next decade as both are committed to going all-electric.
Cadillac has said it is only interested in entering F1 if partnered with Andretti. Last November, GM registered with F1 to invest in a new, billion-dollar hybrid program that would compete with F1 superpowers Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari as part of its global push to be an electric carmaker (Alpine, Audi and Honda are also registered to build hybrids for 2028).
Ford has already begun development with Red Bull in England on their power unit for 2028, though Ford’s commitment is only as a battery supplier.
F1’s decision risks alienating U.S. fans who flocked to the sport in recent years, growing three Grand Prix in Miami, Las Vegas and Austin, Texas. Andretti is not only legend here, but Andretti Autosport’s stable of drivers includes American talent like Colton Herta. While motorsports insiders thought the Andretti Cadillac team would boost F1’s profile in the U.S., they also speculated F1 teams did not want to add an 11th team because it would dilute revenue sharing.
“I think it’s quite a bad look for Formula One to be gatekeeping itself as a closed shop,” said Charles Bradley, editor of Motorsport,com, a leading motorsports publication. “If you look back at the history of the sport, there’s been plenty of lesser-credentialed teams who were welcome to compete. It leaves you in little doubt that the business is now greater than the sport; you could say it’s a victory for greed over speed.”
Though Formula One has never been more lucrative and popular — reaching a staggering 450 million TV viewers — the capital expenditures are enormous to field a competitive team, and the 2028 power unit will bringing even greater costs.
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, of the Netherlands, drives past the Sphere during the Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix auto race, Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023, in Las Vegas. Nick Didlick, AP
The resistance to the Andretti Cadillac team came despite F1’s acceptance of the U.S.-based Haas team, with fewer resources and experience in motorsport, in 2016. Haas has used Ferrari as its engine supplier and has had mediocre results to date, finishing at the bottom of the manufacturer’s championship last year.
Andretti had also intended to use a third-party engine maker, Renault, for the 2025-27 seasons as a bridge to the 2028 Cadillac hybrid unit — and in in order to gain racing experience.
“I was shocked by the length of the F1 statement; it felt like they were trying very hard to find reasons not to let Andretti Cadillac join the club,” said Bradley. “Even the comment about ‘our research indicates that F1 would bring value to the Andretti brand rather than the other way around’ — it makes you wonder exactly who they asked.”
While the FOM statement opens the door to an Andretti Cadillac team in 2028, it will test GM’s commitment to F1 given the costs it is already incurring to electrify its business. Market conditions have forced the company to do a U-turn on hybrid powertrains at a time when the General had committed to only gas and EV powertrains.
Andretti Autosport competes in multiple race series including IndyCar, IMSA (with Acura), Formula E, Extreme E (electric off-racing) and Australian Supercar.
“It would be a lot harder for F1 to say no to a team with the might of GM actually building an engine in 2028. In fact, you could read this rejection as leverage to forcing its hand, to compel it to join the roster of power unit manufacturers,” concluded Bradley. “Whether Andretti’s plans can survive for that long is a question. What if another race team like McLaren, Haas or Williams offers to partner up in the meantime? To steal a GM engine deal could be huge.”
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne