General Motors have made a breakthrough in their efforts to join the Formula 1 grid. It’s emerged at the Las Vegas Grand Prix that the sport could have an 11th team as early as 2026.
GM have been backing Andretti through their Cadillac subsidiary. Formula One Management refused Andretti’s application for the 2025 or 2026 seasons.
They were allegedly concerned that Andretti wouldn’t be sufficiently competitive to add value to the sport. They would, of course, be taking a share of the existing teams’ prize money.
However, it wasn’t a permanent rejection. F1 was intrigued by the idea of GM building their own engines from 2028, effectively making them an Andretti a works team.
According to The Race, the GM-backed bid is now ‘likely’ to be approved. But it will be presented differently.
Michael Andretti, whose attitude unsettled senior figures within the sport, has stepped away from the project. Dan Towriss is the new face of the operation, and he’s made major progress.
General Motors could drop Andretti name entirely in Formula 1 entry
GM have apparently vowed to be as involved as possible right from the beginning. They still won’t be able to produce their own engine until 2026, so they’ll have to buy a power unit from elsewhere for the first couple of years.
Mercedes have already maximised their capacity with four teams, while Red Bull Powertrains and Audi won’t want to overstretch themselves so soon. Ferrari and Honda are therefore the only realistic engine partners.
| SUPPLIER | TEAMS |
| Mercedes | Mercedes, McLaren, Alpine, Williams |
| Red Bull Powertrains | Red Bull, RB |
| Ferrari | Ferrari, Haas |
| Honda | Aston Martin |
| Audi | Audi |
The proposed ‘Andretti-Cadillac’ name is now likely to change, The Race say. ‘Andretti’ could either take on reduced prominence (i.e. appear later) or ‘disappear’ entirely.
The ‘most logical outcome’ is GM and/or Cadillac branding. Cadillac-Ferrari or Cadillac-Honda could be the official title at first until the works operation is ready to go.
GM won’t buy Alpine, but there could be another suitor
F1 hasn’t welcomed a new team to the grid since Haas, another American outfit, in 2016. The embattled Manor team dropped out of the sport at the end of that campaign.
They followed Caterham, who folded in 2014, and HRT (2012). The sport has been running with 20 cars for the past eight seasons, but clearly has capacity for at least 24.
Cadillac held talks with existing teams about a partnership before committing to an independent enterprise. Alpine looked like a prime target but this deal now appears highly unlikely.
However, junior formula team Hitech may be interested in Alpine. It’s significant that their founder, Oliver Oakes, is now the boss at Enstone.
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