The trials and tribulations which the Andretti/Cadillac Formula One team has endured on its way to approval to race in the sport is not yet over. Andretti were knocking at the door back in February 2022 as motor racing legend Mario Andretti revealed.
“Michael [his son] has applied to the FIA to field a new F1 team starting in 2024,” he announced in a social media post on Friday 11th. “His entry, Andretti Global, has the resources and checks every box. He is awaiting the FIA’s determination.”
The irony of the timing was that the teas had signed just twelve months earlier a new Concorde Agreement which binds the FIA, FOM and the teams and race promoters into a legal framework. Within that document, which usually runs for at least five years, was the clause allowing an eleventh and even a prospective F1 twelfth team to join F1 for an anti-dilution fee of $200m.
Pushback on Andretti F1 application
The teams began to line up against this new entrant into their private members club as early arguments against began to form. The prevailing thinking in the paddock appeared to be that F1 was booming having suffered a decade earlier with teams leaving the sport hand over fist.
First up came the merits of why Andretti should share in Formula One’s largest and the push back formed suggesting Andretti as an organisation did not add to the current value of Formula One and therefore was merely sponging off the success of the current state of the sport.
Andretti returned later in the year having formed a partnership with US auto giant General Motors brand Cadillac. This was treated with suspicion by the F1 teams and FOM who suggested the new partnership needed to be building their own new F1 power unit to add value, something which the rest of the field already had a significant start on working towards a new specification in 2026.
Michael Andretti was scathing over the negativity expressed by certain quarters the F1 paddock. “It’s all about money,” he told Forbes. “First, they think they are going to get diluted one-tenth of their prize money, but they also get very greedy thinking we will take all the American sponsors as well.
FIA F1 steward panel grows from 3 to 4
Andretti rages at F1 “greed”
“It’s all about greed and looking at themselves and not looking at what is best for the overall growth of the series. We check all the boxes,” he added. “The only box we didn’t have checked when we were working on our entry was, we didn’t have an OEM behind us, but now we have GM and Cadillac behind us. They are going to bring a lot to the party to help us get a race car on track. We are very bullish at this moment.”
Given Cadillac were never going to play catch up an deliver their own 2026 powertrain, the next move from across the pond was to strike a deal with the then named Renault team, to purchase their power units while Cadillac got top to speed on ‘how to build an F1 engine.’
Now the team’s had moved on developing their argument further by citing logistical difficulties to accommodate any eleventh F1 team at locations like Zandervoot, where the pit lane is already too small. Yet none of the bright sparks from the teams against Andretti understood the Concorde Agreement allows for up to twelve teams on the grid and that the race promoters must accommodate this ion necessary.
The tale of woe Andretti were suffering was already in stark contrast to that of the last team who joined F1 back in 2016. Haas had applied and been accepted to join the F1 grid back in April 2014. The team finally began its F1 journey some twenty one months later.
Red Bull insider reveals huge gap to McLaren
FIA approve detailed Andretti F1 proposal
To ensure there was some propriety over the whole process, early in 2023 the FIA opened a formal process for new teams to apply to join F1 and following an epic tome submitted by Andretti and three months consideration of the business plan, the FIA gave the American’s the green light in the August of 2023.
Again the F1 team’s pushed back now suggesting the anti-dilution joining fee was way too small and should be in excess of $600m – despite the Concorde Agreement stating just $200m.
The FIA now shoved the ball firmly back into FOM and Liberty media’s court to come up with a commercial arrangement which would work for the eleventh team. Several months later early in 2024, the response came.
It suggested the Andretti/Cadillac partnership coexist back in 2028 when they’d built their own powertrain citing a number of ridiculous reasons including that they would not be competitive should they join in 2025. Thos not in the F1 bubble could clearly see the inane nature of this particular argument given the perpetual lack of success Sauber have gained over decades along with Williams who were once on top of the F1 world.
Us Justice department puts there frighteners on F1
To cut a long story short, The US Justice department decided to invest what was described as a ‘private members club’ and whether F1’s rejection of Andretti breached anti-trust laws in the USA where three F1 races are held. The NFL had recently suffered a gigantic $4.7bn fine for breach of the same regulations and behind the scenes panic set in.
Come Austin Texas, Toto Wolff, Christian Horner and Lawrence Stroll arrived at COTA with personal legal representation having been accused of subversive behaviour to prevent aAndretti joining F1 in a WhatsApp chat group.
Within days, Liberty Media had sacked their top legal counsel, their Chairman Greg Maffei – who had raged against Mario in Miami that year – were gone and Michael Andretti had stepped away from the organisation which would run the F1 team, now named simply Cadillac. It was then announced they would join F1 even though certain team bosses explained they knew nothing of the reversal.
No new application was required by the FIA and Cadillac now more than three months later are awaiting a response from Liberty Media and FOM. They have cracked on despite the delays recruiting several hundred people to work for the team and a European base in Silverstone. The team will now run Ferrari engines until Cadillac has had time to do the R&D to manufacture their own.
Red Bull testing mystery explained
Cadillac yet awaiting FOM deal
Cadillac have less than ten months before the start of 2026 and there is still no world from Formula One Management (FOM) over how a commercial deal with them will operate. Cadillac is bound by the restrictions placed on the existing terms in terms of development tie they ca spend on their 2026 car, something Haas F1 avoided back in 2015.
Now F1 supremo, employed by Liberty Media announces ‘it wont be long’ before a formal announcement is completed. “There is the formality that is related to the process that [is] almost ready. Together with the FIA there has to be an update and whenever this will be ready, it should be not too long, there will be an update to formalise what basically has already happened. So they will be ready to fight against or together with the other teams for next year.”
Whether this is Sefano Domenicali’s lack of a native English tongue, but the suggestion Cadillac may compete “with” another team rather than “against” the rest of the field is an intriguing slip of the tongue. This could only mean a future collaboration/take over with/of another F1 team as Audi have attempted with Sauber is potentially on the cards. Renault have ditched making their own F1 engine from 2026 and Alpine have been repeatedly reported as to be up for sale.
Domenicali attempts to smooth over the tumultuous three years since Andretti first announced its intention to join F1: “It’s important to clarify that position,” he said. “We always said that Cadillac is giving, and will give, an incredible boost to the ecosystem of Formula 1. We were referring to other situations that were handled before, but now the picture is totally different.
“It’s important to clarify that position,” adds the F1 supremo, “We always said that Cadillac is giving, and will give, an incredible boost to the ecosystem of Formula 1. We were referring to other situations that were handled before, but now the picture is totally different.”
Hamilton claims responsibility for new Monaco rules
Cadillac will never build F1 turbo hybrid power unit
In terms of the progress and investment made by Andretti/Cadillac Domenicali recognises their readiness to join the sport. “They will be ready to fight against or together with the other teams for next year,” he declared. “And that is the evolution that GM has taken; they want to be a real constructor or a manufacturer that will invest in our sport because they do believe in the technological platform that F1 can provide to their system.
“So very, very happy that now this is on board, moving forward, and looking forward to see them on the track together with the other teams to fight for a great championship.”
Of course as TJ13 first penned last December, Cadillac will never build one of the new breed of F1 turbo hybrid powertrains given that Stefano Domenicali has already backed a return to F1 combustion engines without the electrical components together with bio fuel from 2030 and beyond. This likely future decision for the sport was repeated two weeks ago by FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who called for V10’s to return next time around which run entirely on sustainable fuel.
This may well be the sticking point and the bind FOM have got themselves into and needs a carefully worded statement which does not bind Cadillac to now building a pointless V6 hybrid turbo unit, given their days are numbered to the relief of most F1 fans.
F1 “back to the future”
Formula One missed the boat to ditch their much hated monster weighing hybrid white elephants when the likes of Porsche and Mercedes insisted as early as 2017 they were the road car power unit of choice for the future. Now they will be banned in the UK from 2030 and from 2035 in Europe, so F1 is playing catchup on its technology investment.
The Indycar series which began last weekend is currently powered by combustion engines and runs on 100% bio fuel, together with a mild kinetic energy recovery system F1 developed for the 2009 season.
It seems that “back to the future” is the direction F1 will take over its current power units, which are cumbersome and hugely expensive for customer teams.
FIA last minute 2025 rule change announced this week
Newey day 1 at Aston Martin
With the world of Formula One digesting the results from the pre-season testing in Bahrain, a certain F1 guru car designer slipped into the factory at Silverstone and took to his desk as one of the managing partners at Aston Martin.
Newey well known to be a introverted character will undergo and employee induction with the team over the coming days as he gets to know the team of creatives and engineers now under his management. Famous for his hadn’t drawn designs, rather than the computer fluid models used today, team boss Andy Cowell revealed they had secured from Red Bull a vital piece of equipment for their new head of all things technical.
Adrian is well know to prefer to stand at his easel style drawing board rather than sit in front of a computer screen and when he joined Red Bull in 2006 a problem occurred… READ MORE
With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
