The American Andretti Global team has joined forces with US automobile giants General Motors in order to compete in Formula 1.
According to a joint statement, if General Motors’ bid is successful, it will be represented by its luxury Cadillac brand. Andretti stated that he would like to compete as soon as possible, and that he would like at least one American driver.
Colton Herta, an IndyCar driver for Andretti Autosport, has F1 ambitions and missed out on a seat this year with Red Bull’s Alpha Tauri team only because he did not have enough licence points to qualify.
Andretti is one of the most famous figures in world motorsport. Michael’s father Mario won his F1 World Championship in 1978 and Michael is a former F1 driver. Both are him one of the most successful American racing drivers in history.
GM is one of the world’s largest automakers and an icon of American industry, but understands that Andretti and Cadillac must go through a formal F1 process and the teams are unlikely to join before 2026. Mohammed Ben Sulayem, president of the FIA (Formula 1’s governing body) said earlier this week that the sport would begin a formal expression of interest process for potential new teams in the sport.
The commercial rights holder’s F1 must also agree to the new entry.