Tag: Andretti Cadillac

Ben Sulayem changes tune on Andretti F1 bid, says buy existing team

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has told Andretti Cadillac to try and buy an existing Formula 1 team rather than attempt to join the sport as a new entrant, despite initiating the process for new teams last year. Ben Sulayem endorsed Andretti’s …

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has told Andretti Cadillac to try and buy an existing Formula 1 team rather than attempt to join the sport as a new entrant, despite initiating the process for new teams last year.

Ben Sulayem endorsed Andretti’s bid and instructed the FIA to open up the process that would allow new teams to try and join the grid, with the existing agreements stating there can be at least two more constructors’ entered into F1. Andretti’s submission was the only one approved by the FIA as meeting all of the criteria the governing body had set out for a new team, allowing it to try and reach a commercial agreement with Formula One Management (FOM).

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1388]

However, FOM rejected a request to enter before 2028 – when General Motors has registered its interest to develop its own power unit – and said it would likely look more favorably on the bid once a full GM power unit was part of the Andretti Cadillac entry.

While U.S. Government officials have been lobbying for investigations into the lack of an entry so far, Ben Sulayem has now said Andretti should purchase an existing team, despite none of the 10 constructors’ openly stating they are interested in a takeover.

“I have no doubt FOM and Liberty (Media) would love to see other teams as long as they are OEMs (car manufacturers),” Ben Sulayem told Reuters. “I would advise them (Andretti Cadillac) to go and buy another team, not to come as the 11th team.

“I feel that some teams need to be refreshed. What is better? To have 11 teams as a number or 10 and they are strong? I still believe we should have more teams but not any teams. The right teams. It’s not about the number, it’s about the quality.”

Ben Sulayem also suggests some teams are unstable from a managerial perspective and should be targeted by Andretti, although aside from Red Bull – where Christian Horner has come under scrutiny for his alleged behavior towards a colleague – the three most recent teams principal changes have occurred at Alpine, RB and Haas, who all insist they are not for sale.

“Without mentioning names, there are teams which are struggling… struggling with performance, struggling even with management,” he said. “It’s about having the right team, not to lose a chance or an opportunity where someone like GM with a PU [power unit] is coming to Formula 1.

“Imagine the impact. We have three races in America. We have such a huge fan base. But we don’t have a proper (U.S.) team. I’m so happy to have Ford in but imagine having GM and imagine having American drivers.”

The next draft of the Concorde Agreement is currently being worked on that could see an increase on the current $200 million fee demanded of new entrants that would be distributed among existing teams.

“We have to have a balance. Is $200 million too low?” Ben Sulayem added. “I believe $600 (million) is something where it is right for the current market.”

Horner ‘surprised’ by Andretti DOJ push

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says he is “surprised” that Andretti Cadillac has taken its effort to join Formula 1 to the U.S. Department of Justice, but says he’d “absolutely” welcome the team onto the grid via a purchase of an existing …

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says he is “surprised” that Andretti Cadillac has taken its effort to join Formula 1 to the U.S. Department of Justice, but says he’d “absolutely” welcome the team onto the grid via a purchase of an existing constructor.

The DOJ has been asked to investigate Formula 1’s decision not to allow Andretti Cadillac onto the grid in 2025 or 2026, with a number of U.S. Senators questioning whether it “could violate U.S. antitrust laws.” F1 has stated it would be more open to allowing the project to join the grid in 2028 if General Motors delivers its own power unit, and Horner says the desire to continue growing the sport in the United States is clear.

“We’re [F1] U.S.-owned; we have five Fortune 500 companies on our car; I think that this isn’t about anything to do with Andretti being American or anything like that,” Horner said. “I think it’s purely down to the business model that is Formula 1.

“I remember not so long ago that there would always be two teams at the tail end of the grid needing to be bailed out or being technically insolvent. We finally got into a position where there’s great strength and health in Formula 1 and Liberty have to be congratulated for that, because they’ve created a model where even the worst team in Formula 1 probably has a billion-dollar valuation — Liberty have created that model.

“I think the approach that they brought by opening the sport up as well and bringing a new fandom and new fans into the sport, they have to be commended on and I was surprised to see that Andretti have gone down this process. Hopefully, if they really want to find a way onto the grid they will find it. But I think the most natural solution is for them to acquire an existing franchise, should one want to sell.”

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1388]

Michael Andretti has been putting together a team with the hope of being granted a place as an 11th entrant as part of an expanded grid, but many rival team bosses have called for the project to focus on taking over an existing team.

Asked if he’d welcome Andretti and Cadillac onto the grid, Horner replied: “Yeah, absolutely.

“I think Andretti has great racing heritage. Mario is a legend of the sport. And of course, Cadillac, a huge automotive manufacturer from the U.S. I think Formula 1 have said in 2028, if they were to come with their own engine, they would obviously, I think, review it.

“But in addition to that, I think that if Andretti were to want to come — a little like Audi acquired Sauber, I think, to protect the current franchise and stability that we have in the sport — then obviously their best route to that goal is to acquire one of the existing teams.”

Horner’s viewpoint was backed up by Alessandro Alunni Bravi — who will see his Stake team become Audi in 2026 — and Alpine team principal Bruno Famin.

“I think that Audi shows the right path to come to Formula 1,” Alunni Bravi said. “Of course, Cadillac is a big player and it qualifies this project as a potentially good project. But there is a way that is to buy into an existing team. And I think that the process put in place by Formula 1 is a clear one; very robust project. So I think that they know what could be the way.”

“I think we’re all on the same line,” Famin added. “Big name –Andretti, Cadillac — but we have to be very careful not to dilute and to preserve the value of the championship and for the teams as well. And there are two ways — they buy a team or they bring enough value to the championship to compensate. But I think it’s the same story from the very beginning.”

Mario Andretti claims Liberty CEO personally threatened to block team

Mario Andretti has claimed Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei personally threatened to block Michael Andretti’s attempts to enter a new team in Formula 1. The Andretti Global entry was originally approved by the FIA as part of its analysis of which …

Mario Andretti has claimed Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei personally threatened to block Michael Andretti’s attempts to enter a new team in Formula 1.

The Andretti Global entry was originally approved by the FIA as part of its analysis of which prospective new entrants met the governing body’s criteria, but then was knocked back by Formula One Management (FOM) when it came to joining the grid in 2025 or ’26. FOM stated it would be more open to accepting Andretti Cadillac if and when General Motors delivers its own power unit in 2028, but the initial deferral has led to members of U.S Congress and Senators taking an interest.

Mario Andretti was present when members of Congress held a press conference in Washington D.C. ahead the Miami Grand Prix, following a letter being written to Maffei asking for clarity over the lack of an entry for Andretti Cadillac.

Speaking to NBC News, the 1978 Formula 1 world champion says he was at an event in Miami and speaking to F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali about his presence in Washington when Maffei approached him.

“I was asked to go there (to Washington),” Andretti is quoted as saying. “And just as I was trying to explain that to Stefano, Greg Maffei, Mr. Maffei, broke in the conversation and he said: ‘Mario, I want to tell you that I will do everything in my power to see that Michael never enters Formula 1.’

“I could not believe that. That one really floored me. … We’re talking about business. I didn’t know it was something so personal. That was really — oh, my goodness. I could not believe it. It was just like a bullet through my heart.”

However, a source close to Liberty Media told RACER that the situation had played out differently, and that it had been Andretti who approached Maffei to discuss the matter.

There is understood to be skepticism within a selection of the sport’s stakeholders regarding the validity of Andretti’s claims that he did not bring the situation to the attention of Congress, with Andretti telling NBC “I did not initiate that” and suggesting it was a Red Bull show run on Pennsylvania Avenue earlier in April that caught they eye.

Since then, U.S. Senators have called on the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission to investigate what they describe as “the exclusion of Andretti Formula Racing, LLC from entering the Formula One Championship series,” despite FOM’s stance regarding an entry in 2028.

Formula 1 officially rejects Andretti bid for entry in 2025-26

Andretti responded to the news by asserting it “strongly disagrees” with the decision and that it is continuing development of its F1 program.

Andretti Cadillac had hopes for a recent Formula 1 entry when it was approved by the FIA last year, but now, they’ve run into a roadblock — while the FIA wants them in Formula 1, Formula 1 itself does not.

Formula 1 Management, or FOM for short, rejected Andretti’s bid to join the sport in either 2025 or 2026, per Chris Medland of RACER. FOM did, however, leave the door open for a 2028 entry when General Motors plans to enter the sport as a power unit manufacturer. That, however, would be two years into new regulations for Formula 1.

F1’s statement seemed to imply numerous things they deemed wrong with Andretti’s bid. Not only did FOM say that they did not think Andretti’s brand would be beneficial to F1, but they also did not seem to think Andretti would be competitive enough for the sport.

The most significant way in which a new entrant would bring value is by being competitive. We do not believe that the Applicant, [Andretti Formula Racing, LLC], would be a competitive participant,” F1 said Wednesday.

Andretti, of course, responded to the news, and it appears they don’t plan to take it without a fight. Andretti Cadillac said in a statement that it “strongly disagrees” with the decision and that it plans to continue developing its Formula 1 program.

What happens next is unclear, but there is a possibility that the matter could be resolved in court. Andretti has met the requirements of FOM’s Concorde Agreement between the FIA and FOM signed in 2021, which allows for up to 12 teams with a $200 million entry fee for the series. In theory, Andretti could bring the issue to court as a potential anti-competition violation.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=10]