Formula One Management’s announcement yesterday that it has reached an agreement in principle with Cadillac for it to join the series in 2026 is a U-turn from its position at the beginning of the year.
When FOM declined Andretti’s application to enter the championship in January, it appeared to close the door not just on them, but anyone wanting to join the world championship.“Our assessment process has established that the presence of an 11th team would not, on its own, provide value to the championship,” it stated.
This appeared to suggest there were no circumstances under which an additional team might be granted an entry. That put the sport’s commercial rights holder at odds with the FIA, whose regulations provide for more than 11 teams, which F1 had as recently as 2016 (pictured), and which had approved Andretti’s bid in October last year.
FOM also described various ways by which Andretti’s application might be improved. But one stand-out line indicated it never stood a chance as long as the 1978 world champion’s surname graced it:
“While the Andretti name carries some recognition for F1 fans, our research indicates that F1 would bring value to the Andretti brand rather than the other way around.”
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According to the champion himself, Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei made it explicitly clear to him that his son Michael’s team stood no chance as long as he was associated with it. Andretti described how he spoke to F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali when “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.'”
While the team will now be branded by Cadillac, Andretti retains a connection to it through the octogenarian champion whose success in F1 and beyond gave the name such resonance among fans of the sport. He will serve as a director on the team’s board, a detail which was not acknowledged by FOM, whose statement pointedly avoided any mention of the Andretti name.
Andretti and Cadillac have been dogged in pursuit of their place on the grid in 2026. The FIA and president Mohammed Ben Sulayem have fought their corner, rightly pointing out there is no 10-team cap in F1, even though the existing competitors complained vociferously that any expansion of the grid threatened to dilute their earnings. “We’re not paying for it,” Red Bull team principal Christian Horner stated plainly last weekend.
A significant point which remains to be seen is what kind of anti-dilution payment Cadillac will pay to enter F1. This is set at $200 million under F1’s commercial agreement, but that expires at the end of 2025, the year prior to Cadillac’s entry.
In their statement accepting Cadillac’s application, FOM acknowledged Cadillac intends to produce its own power unit at some stage, but did not indicate when. This was originally announced by GM two months before Andretti’s application was rejected, but is understood to have played a significant role in convincing FOM to take GM’s bid seriously.
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Here Ben Sulayem also played a significant role. The FIA has been in contact with GM since it invited applicants to enter the championship in February last year, while FOM has only begun to engage with them more recently, and pushed the US car-making giant to increase its commitment.
Andretti and Cadillac repeatedly demonstrated how serious they were about being competitive in F1. Despite the apparent setback of FOM’s January rejection they continued to pour effort into building up their operation.
The signing of FOM’s chief technical offer Pat Symonds in May was a significant coup which showed those in the know understood they had a realistic chance. Yesterday’s statement from FOM wasn’t just a vindication of their efforts, it also handed Ben Sulayem a noteworthy victory.
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Formula 1
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- $450 million payment for Cadillac to join Formula 1 is too low – Wolff
- Aston Martin ‘won the championship for most updates – but they didn’t deliver’ – Cowell
- Verstappen says he won’t change how he races despite reaching eight penalty points
- Alunni Bravi leaving Sauber after two years as team representative
Roger Ayles (@roger-ayles)
26th November 2024, 14:11
Because they are only interested in manufacturers.
There’s no room in the sport for privateer/independent entrants who are there due to a love and passion for the sport.
Leksa (@leksa)
26th November 2024, 15:02
Indeed. Greediness is a cancer that is killing F1’s heritage by turning it into corporate cash cow. F1 is supposed to be a motorsport discipline and not a conglomerate.
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
26th November 2024, 17:23
the more invested fatter and fatter cats get, the more it has to be controlled and the faker it ultimately gets.
Greg
26th November 2024, 20:51
Greediness or not most failed F1 teams, especially in the 1960s to 1990s period, went for lack of money. Like it or not F1 is a business and team most make money. It’s time we start accepting F1 for what it is: entertainment.
Alan Thomson
27th November 2024, 23:29
No, I will not.
MarkWebber (@markwebber)
26th November 2024, 16:50
+1
Dane
26th November 2024, 22:49
It shows they learned nothing from 2009 when several big manufacturers fled the sport during the financial crash. Meanwhile little guys like Haas managed to stick around through the pandemic.
Jim from US (@jimfromus)
26th November 2024, 14:21
The cynic in me thinks that FOM know that at least 1 of the current teams will be dropping out by 2026. Maybe Williams or AM or …
G (@unklegsif)
26th November 2024, 14:36
After all the investment that both AM and Williams have made, specifically AM, it will be highly unlikely that it’s either of these – maybe Alpine however?
Martin (@f1hornet)
26th November 2024, 14:52
Alpine is such a weird one. I don’t understand how it helps their marketing to be a non-manufacturer team. If Alpine became successful with a Mercedes engine, is that more of an advert for Mercedes? And if Alpine remains unsuccessful, who cares? Better just to sell up and move on. I don’t understand why the Renault board didn’t try to sell the team to Andretti or GM, and why GM would feel it’s preferable to build a new team from scratch rather than buy an existing one.
I guess another team that might drop out is RB, either because Red Bull don’t want to fund two teams anymore or because other teams press the FIA to remove the ability to have a junior team with such a relationship.
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
26th November 2024, 17:28
Alpine sucked in some investors who probably want more ROI.
Renault have been garbage since the hybrid era began, but because the rules are so conducive to sucking money from teams, they pretty much were allowed to suck forever, given how anti-competitive the rule changes have been since the “hybrid” era began.
And if you want to sell a property, it helps to have something that has the hope of inspiring confidence.
matt90
26th November 2024, 18:28
Alpine will soon be an EV-only brand. So having a Merc engine isn’t exactly a marketing hindrance if they don’t sell cars with a Renault engine any more (and Merc don’t really compete with their road cars). But having a racing car with any engine presumably is a hindrance.
Greg
26th November 2024, 20:55
Alpine/Renault only need to sale team Enstone and we’d have the same team with a new name, someting that have already happened (Toleman, Benetton, Renault, Lotus, Alpine).
MichaelN
26th November 2024, 15:54
Alpine seems headed for a sale. A lot of their recent moves don’t make much sense otherwise. So “losing” Renault is quite possible, although who picks up the team seems entirely unknown. Haven’t seen any credible speculation about that.
Making this a “Cadillac” team smells like a way to give FOM something to claim as a win. Nothing meaningful has changed compared to earlier this year. Other than FOM getting a bit more outside attention for their actions than they bargained for. If the team is run by Andretti, the car is build by Andretti and it’s headed by Andretti(‘s business partner) then it’s pretty obvious what is going on. It’s like WRT running the BMW hypercars, or Joest being the Audi LMP900 program.
T
27th November 2024, 0:13
well that and the fact that a 2026 entry ensures the anti-dilution fee is absolutely going to balloon as the current Concorde agreement expires well before that. BBC reports GM is expected to pay 450 million dollars to join
I keep seeing people trying to paint this as a loss for FOM/Liberty but they quite literally got every. single. thing. they wanted:
– the bull in the china shop has been taken out back and shot
– GM is coming on front and center in both marketing and discussions instead of being tethered to the middleman in Andretti with an exit strategy
– the guy who said Andretti or bust is now very honored to have joined without Andretti in any decision making capacity whatsoever
– FOM has managed to more than double the asking price for the AD fee
– the antitrust investigation will stall because the Sherman Act no longer applies but more importantly, the department is about to be gutted and spearheaded by a different administration that loves monopolies
where exactly did FOM/Liberty lose?
where are they saving face?
I mean someone for sure got shafted but I don’t think it’s the entity walking away with over 400 million dollars to disperse and the exact structure of a works team they wanted per the rejection that clearly almost no one read.
if this is really forcing FOM’s hand why make all these concessions: why not still call it Andretti Cadillac, why not make Micheal the TP or leave him in charge, he may not have a majority stake but that doesn’t stop him from leading the fledgling team, why hand Mario a non executive role, why bother with facilitating a Ferrari engine deal when Honda would have been forced to do it anyway? Why agree to pay more than double the AD fee after the DOJ is backing you and has supposedly forced FOM to the negotiation table
I really don’t see how exactly FOM lost this, is it Greg stepping down? is that the loss? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
SteveP
27th November 2024, 17:38
Hmm. Your view is a refreshing change.
I read that FOM statement, and had my contract reading mindset engaged. That’s part of the reason I’ve been regularly disagreeing with the interpretation some people round here have made.
JackL
26th November 2024, 14:44
Maffei opposed Andretti because he didnt like Michael personally. Of all the idiotic reasons to oppose a $200M entry…. Then when Michael was removed, they approved it. Literally the same entry. Its made the FIA look silly, the FOM look shallow and childish, and the whole process look corrupt, dictatorial, and a waste of time.
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
26th November 2024, 17:28
if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, floats like a ….
Broadsowrd to Danny Boy
27th November 2024, 9:08
In other words, F1 continues much as it always has….
An Sionnach
26th November 2024, 16:16
This gives me a headache. It doesn’t appear clear as to why anyone did anything. I don’t like the US justice department fiddling about with F1 even though the rejection of a team recommended by the FIA was inexplicable from a sporting perspective. Michael had a torrid time in F1. Too bad he can’t rectify that too some degree by getting involved.
Coventry Climax
26th November 2024, 17:24
Change the name ‘Andretti’ in the above FOM statement into any of the sponsornames currently active in F1, and suddenly all is fine.
Try, for instance, ‘Pirelli’. Makes you laugh, if it weren’t so sad.
Dane
26th November 2024, 22:56
The only reason any brand gets involved with F1 is to raise their value. I don’t know what Michael Andretti did to offend FOM but apparently getting him out was apparently the only thing holding this back.
mrfill (@mrfill)
26th November 2024, 17:42
I wonder if they would have been influenced if the dilution fee was, say, $450m instead of $200m.
(Answer – Yes)
f1andrea
26th November 2024, 18:56
Totally absurd that FOM now make this story as a success when in January they said no just for personal reason. So happy to see finally enter a new team and so happy that Maffei will go.
Ah, but F1 garages in the circuits now fit 11 teams? I don’t remember any work of building new garages at all circuites…pathetic
Don
26th November 2024, 22:14
Michael must feel betrayed and burned by all of this, and it will be very weird not seeing him at their IndyCar timing stand next season. I’d like to hear Towriss interviewed and hear his side of the story, but it wouldn’t be truthful. It’s all quite sad really. Forced from your own team, by the guy with the purse strings (his right obviously). I doubt he’s on Michaels Christmas card list this year.
SteveP
27th November 2024, 17:54
So, you’re undecided about which side to believe, then?
Purse strings as in majority owner? Yeah, I guess that could happen, although the details of the works team share structure would be interesting to look at. GM vs. Towriss vs. Andretti
EffWunFan (@cairnsfella)
26th November 2024, 22:41
and I still don’t really understand what they could have put in place to stop Cadillac becoming Andretti if they chose to go that route.
DB-C90 (@dbradock)
27th November 2024, 1:15
I’ll be surprised if indeed there ends up being 11 teams come 2026 asi suspect at least one team will drop out/sell up.
What will be interesting will be whether or not the new team genuinely is a new team, or just buys out the team dropping out.
Lots more to come on this before 2026.
SteveP
27th November 2024, 18:26
Could the sale be to ‘new’ team Hitech Enstone?
Then they can use some of the money the FIA are shelling out as their penalty for blocking their application.
Some might suggest that Hitech didn’t give the same incentives to MBS