Weeks after Michael Andretti announced plans to link up with General Motors to launch a new team in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, the response from other teams is still yet to reach the welcoming heights that the Andretti brand had hoped.
After spending the 2022 season discussing plans to expand from the existing ten teams, Andretti revealed that it was planning on opening a Formula 1 operation.
Fast forward to the present, and Andretti has confirmed plans to join Formula 1 with support from Cadillac and seems to have all his ducks in a row. FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem multiple times, has gone extremely public with his desire to expand the grid in the coming years and has spoken to the media, expressing disappointment over the reluctance to embrace the Andretti brand.
“It is surprising that there has been some adverse reaction to the Cadillac and Andretti news. The FIA has accepted the entries of smaller, successful organisations in recent years. We should be encouraging prospective F1 entries from global manufacturers like GM and thoroughbred racers like Andretti and others.
“Interest from teams in growth markets adds diversity and broadens F1’s appeal.”
Of course, Mohammed Ben Sulayem is right, the sport welcomes and in fact encourages entries from manufacturers such as GM and Cadillac, the Andretti brand isn’t being entirely truthful when it comes to its new Formula One project.
One team principal, who remained anonymous reported there is “a lot of smoke and mirrors” surrounding the situation. The driving force behind the animosity remains financial as new teams need to show their value from the get-go and prove that they can bring competition to their rivals.
Whilst other potential new entries have kept their heads down and maintained a fairly low profile, Andretti took the opposite approach and went to the extreme of holding a press conference, which clearly stated his interest in the Formula 1 opportunity, and has since spoken in public about his upcoming plans.
Andretti entering Formula 1 started with money, as does everything else in the sport, however, financing isn’t the only reason that’s casting a dark cloud over the new team entry. Some have questioned what Andretti will bring to the grid in 2026, which inevitably triggered Andretti to argue the team are ‘bringing one of the biggest manufacturers in the world now with us, with General Motors and Cadillac“.
But apart from the obvious, bringing iconic brands to Formula 1, there isn’t anything else that Andretti can offer to sway the opinions in his favour.
Even before the Andretti and GM announcement the reactions at the American brand joining Formula 1 were lukewarm at best, and after digesting the plans it seems that the existing teams on the grid had hoped for a team that brought more than big manufacturers to the table.
And to make maters worse, rival teams and Formula 1 itself haven’t been over the moon with how public Andretti has been in trying to secure support for his new team. His aggressive approach and extreme political stance on the matter seemed too have ruffled some feathers amongst the paddocks as the American hasn’t been particualr shy talking about his amibtions in public.
However, if plans follow through for Andretti Global, 2026 will not only see Audi compete for the Championship but Andretti’s All-American Formula 1 team.
