In early 2023, Andretti Global announced its intent to field a Cadillac F1 team, with interest in competing “as soon as practical” pending approval by the sanctioning body. The announcement netted negative reactions from existing F1 teams, something Michael Andretti pointed out as being the product of greed within the open wheel motorsports industry. However, a recent report from German news outlet Motorsport-Total indicates that Andretti’s Cadillac F1 bid isn’t over just yet.
The Andretti-Cadillac proposal was the only one of four total potential teams that made it to the final stage of FIA approval, beating out propositions from Hitech, Rodin Carlin and LKY SUNZ for a potential F1 license. All three aforementioned teams recently received a rejection notice from the FIA.
Criteria to make a team eligible for F1 participation was made more strict in 2023, meaning that interested parties have to prove that they have the financial resources to fund a Formula One team, provide a plan for ecological sustainability and outline their intent for a positive social impact, the latter of which is achieved by diversity of staff.
It stands to reason, then, that the FIA was satisfied with the plans submitted for the Andretti Cadillac F1 team. Should Cadillac Racing succeed in its attempts to start an F1 team with Andretti, it could be eligible for competition in 2026.
Much of the resistance to the Cadillac F1 bid stems from the existing teams being unwilling to split profits with another entity. Interestingly, one of the rejected teams, LKY SUNZ, has been rather vocal about its willingness to pay well over the $200 million antidilution fee, offering up to $600 million if the FIA allows it to proceed with F1 plans.
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