Some three years ago in 2022, ex-F1 driver and son of the legendary Mario Andretti revealed his plans to enter Formula One for the 2024 season. The team was contain the Andretti name and Michael made his pitch to join the series at the pinnacle of motorsport by way of social media.

Despite Haas F1 already being owned by an American, Andretti were to make a big deal about becoming the sport’s American team and along with the promise to field all American drivers. Haas have never recruited an American preferring to recruit drivers with either big financial backing or F1 experience.

Mario Andretti later confirmed in an interview with ‘Racer’ that the team would “definitely” enter F1 with an American at the helm of one of its cars, but yesterday’s announcement that Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez would be their pilots for 2026 flew in the face of the previous commitment.

 

 

 

Andretti’s original goals

Of course to join the world’s premier racing series, Andretti had to bow to certain demands being made from within the upper echelons F1. In just over a weekend at the 2024 USGP, the name of the team was changed to Cadillac and Michael Andretti who had ruffled feathers with his criticism of F1 being an ‘elite club’ was forced to step down from any operational involvement with the new team.

Mario remains a non-executive director of the eleventh F1 team, but has rowed back on his commitment to joining the grid with a home grown star driver. The decision has already sparked debate among fans hoping to see an American in the cockpit of GM’s flagship project, but Cadillac’s leadership insists that seasoned experience was non-negotiable for year one.

Speculation has swirled since 2022 that Colton Herta, a Californian racing in Indycar, would be a shoe in for the Cadillac F1 project. Yet once again he has failed to accumulate enough points for the FIA to issue him with an F1 super license. At the penultimate round of the Indycar season last weekend in Milwaukee, Herta refused to rule out joining the F1 feeder series to gain the points he requires.

 

 

 

FIA super license points ranking system under scrutiny

The FIA weights its points system for drivers in favour of the racing within the series it regulated, meaning an F2 driver can easily score more points than one completing in the NTT Indycar series. Speaking of Colton Herta, Mario added: “The kid is for real. I know what I’m talking about, I know when I see something.

“I said the same thing about Max when I first saw him. I said the same thing about Sebastian Vettel when he won Monza with Toro Rosso and things like that — I’ve been around long enough to see these things and I haven’t been wrong yet!,” said the 1978 F1 champion. Herta also had a ringing endorsement from two-time champion Fernando Alonso ahead of the 2022 U.S. Grand Prix. “I think he’s a very good driver, very talented … He would be a good fit for Formula One for sure,” said the Spaniard.

Yet since then, IndyCar has been dominated by Alex Palou who has clinched his fourth championship in six years of racing in the series and Colton Herta’s promise is yet to be seen. His high point was in 2024 when he was runner up to Palou, but he currently languishes in sixth place with one round to go this year and no hope of making the points tally required for F1.

 

 

 

Herta failed to garner enough points

Cadillac, now partnering with TWG Motorsports for its F1 entry, stressed at yesterdays big announcement that it believed only veterans could provide the leadership from within the cockpit that is required to launch a brand new F1 operation.  CEO Dan Towriss and GM president Mark Reuss both emphasised that establishing competitiveness quickly in the unforgiving world of Formula 1 outweighed the marketing value of an American driver.

“In the case of Colton, the super licence points just aren’t there,” Towriss explained. “But really, it came down to experience in F1. Everyone in this project is new and working together for the first time, so we needed drivers who have already been through it. It is important to us to make sure there is a pathway for an American driver into F1 but for this inaugural season, this was the right combination.”

Whilst emphasising the risk was too great in recruiting a junior driver, Towriss conceded: “There’s a pool of exciting, talented young drivers. But it was the leadership and technical acumen of Checo and Valtteri that stood out. We’re humbled by their belief in us and this project.”

 

 

 

A “pathway for an American driver into F1”

Reuss noted that the gulf between IndyCar and F1 isn’t just about the machinery but the human and technical demands of developing a car at the highest level. “You can simulate and model up to a point,” he said. “But ultimately it becomes about human ability — stretching limits in a car they trust, and communicating with the team at an extraordinary level. The back-and-forth between driver and engineers is vital. That’s where experience counts.”

For Cadillac, Bottas and Pérez are the safe hands to guide the team through the inevitable turbulence of its early years. Both bring more than a decade of F1 experience, a combined 106 podiums, and reputations as strong team players.

But the door for American talent remains open. Cadillac insists that once its foundations are laid, it will look again at integrating U.S. drivers into the programme. Longer term, Cadillac hopes its global ambitions will eventually be symbolised not just by the badge on the car, but by the stars and stripes flying over one of its own in the cockpit.

 

 

 

Why Cadillac will test with Ferrari’s 2023 car

With McLaren runaway leaders in both Formula One championships this year, the only question remaining is which of their drivers will claim their maiden F1 drivers’ title. Whilst that’s the big issue to yet be resolved, there’s much for the other teams to achieve although ultimately it will be a season of disappointment for Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes.

Yet it is the biggest change in F1 car and power unit design regulations for a generation which is gathering momentum with weekly updates coming on how the drivers are finding the simulation of the next generation of F1 cars together with this weeks admission from the FIA that the rules of engagement for 2026 are “not finalised.”

Cadillac will become the eleventh F1 team next year, after a long battle to join the sport was only resolved at the 2024 USGP. They will become the sport’s first brand new team since Haas F1 made their debut in 2016. Unlike Haas, who had complete freedom to do as they pleased until pre-season testing in 2016, Cadillac are bound by many of the restrictions the current teams face…. READ MORE