Andretti Global has joined forces with General Motors to enter an "all-American team" in the Formula 1 World Championship in the future under the Cadillac brand.
Andretti Global has been fighting to join the grid for the past year, but has faced resistance from the sport's major constituents who appear unwilling to accept a dilution of F1's pool of prize money which is currently divided among ten teams.
However, earlier this week, in a sign that the FIA is seriously considering expanding F1's field, president Mohammed Ben Sulayem revealed on Twitter that he has asked his team to consider an "expression of interest" process to evaluate the viability of potential new teams seeking an entry into F1.
In response to Ben Sulayem's call, Andretti Global and General Motors announced on Thursday a plan to enter an "all-American team" into F1 under the Cadillac Racing banner.
Proud to announce our Andretti Global partnership with GM @Cadillac as we pursue the opportunity to compete in the @FIA @F1 World Championship. #CadillacVSeries #AllAndretti pic.twitter.com/c1juJtra11
— Michael Andretti (@michaelandretti) January 5, 2023
"We are continuing to grow Andretti Global and its family of racing teams and always have our eyes on what’s next," commented team owner Michael Andretti.
"I feel that we are well suited to be a new team for Formula One and can bring value to the series and our partners, and excitement for the fans.
"I’m proud to have GM and Cadillac alongside us as we pursue this goal. GM and Andretti share a legacy born out of the love of racing.
"We now have the opportunity to combine our motorsport passions and dedication to innovation to build a true American F1 bid."
"Together, we will continue to follow procedures and steps put forth by the FIA during the evaluation process. In the meantime, we continue to optimistically prepare should we be fortunate enough to have Andretti Cadillac formally approved as a Formula One contender."
No timeline regarding Cadillac's entry has been given by Andretti who said it would “depend on the expression of interest, how long that takes, and where we are at the time.”
“But we are going to be on-track when it all makes sense to be on-track,” he added.
The potential new team would rely on a third party – likely to be Renault based on Andretti's current contacts - for its supply of power units which could be rebadged GM or Cadillac.
The Andretti Cadillac team would be based in the U.S. with a support facility in the U.K.
"General Motors is honored to team with Andretti Global on this historic moment in racing," commented Mark Reuss, president of General Motors.
"We have a long, rich history in motorsports and engineering innovation, and we are thrilled with the prospect of pairing with Andretti Global to form an American F1 team that will help spur even more global interest in the series and the sport.
"Cadillac and F1 both have growing global appeal. Our brand has a motorsports pedigree that’s more than a century in the making, and we would be proud to have the opportunity to bring our distinct American innovation and design to F1."
Early last year, when Andretti faced push back on its F1 plans by Grand Prix racing's incumbents, they questioned the value the US outfit would add to the grid as an eleventh team. In short, it was challenged to do more to justify its justify its entry into motorsport's elite.
Today's GM/Cadillac news is perhaps the trump card that will finally win the hand for Andretti.
"We believe so," Andretti told the media after Thursday's announcement. "In the end, it is still an FIA series, and the president has definitely showed that he really would like to have an 11th team, at least, on the grid.
"He is a racer, and he understands the importance of that for the series itself.
"So we feel very confident that once the expression of interest goes out, especially having our great partnership with Cadillac, that we have a very, very, very good shot at checking every box and being able to be on the grid soon."
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