Andretti and General Motors are continuing with their joint plans to establish an 11th Formula 1 team despite their initial bid being rejected last month by Formula 1 Management, the commercial rights holder of the sport.
Speaking to reporters over the weekend during the Daytona 500 NASCAR race, including from Autosport, Jim Campbell, GM’s vice president of performance and motorsports, said work on the F1 project is continuing “at pace” and that a meeting with F1 Management had been requested.
F1 Management, which is owned by America’s Liberty Media, had previously contacted Andretti last December via email to arrange a meeting but an IT glitch meant the message was never seen, according to Campbell.
Though the FIA, motorsports’ governing body, gave its approval for Andretti and GM’s bid last October, F1 Management rejected the bid on the grounds the new team wouldn’t be competitive, but said in its official statement that it would “look differently” at an application if the team planned to use a GM power unit.
GM plans F1 power unit for Andretti Cadillac team
Andretti and GM’s bid sought an entry by 2025, with a team branded as Andretti Cadillac and initially running Renault power units. F1 management mentioned its concern with the team having to quickly develop a car for the 2025 season with the current power unit and then a new car for the 2026 season when new power unit rules are introduced.
GM last November announced it was developing its own F1 power unit, but because the automaker only applied to become an F1 power unit supplier in 2023, per FIA rules its power unit can’t be used until the 2028 season. With Andretti and GM continuing with their F1 project, it means their planned Andretti Cadillac team might still make it to the grid in 2028, with a GM power unit.
Andretti and GM’s bid was the only successful bid out of seven applications sent to the FIA to expand the grid from 10 teams to 11. Other leading bids came from New Zealand’s Rodin, British racing team Hitech Grand Prix, and an Asia-based motorsports startup by the name of Lkysunz.
