General Motors will enter Formula 1 in 2026 with a revised Andretti bid, with several factors at play in the apparent U-turn made by the world’s premier motorsport series.
News travels fast in the F1 circus, and upon landing in Las Vegas, reporters in the paddock were buzzing with rampant news that General Motors and F1 were accelerating talks to come to a 2026 agreement.
Thanks to the Associated Press, it became clear that Michael Andretti, who was unsuccessful in agreeing terms with Formula One Management to launch his eponymous team into GP racing in 2026, stepped aside from control of his company in September to help things move forward.
With new majority owner Dan Towriss at the helm and a firm General Motors hand sharing the tiller, Monday revealed that America’s grandest automaker will bring the Cadillac name into F1 using the pieces that Michael Andretti put in place.
Those pieces include a satellite site in Silverstone, a steady workforce of 250 people, key hires in Pat Symonds, Rob White and Nick Chester along with preliminary wind tunnel testing in Toyota’s Cologne facility.
But why no Michael?
Well, his allegedly brash way of trying to shout and blast his way into the sport didn’t sit well with F1 and his name alone didn’t carry the significant value that the likes of Liberty Media craves from its entrants.
His lack of involvement must sting, especially since his 1978 F1 Drivers’ Champion father Mario is still involved as a director “not involved in day-to-day operations.”
General Motors is a different story when it comes to enticing F1 than Michael Andretti, whose time with the sport was all too temporary.
A star of the American single-seater scene, Michael Andretti embarked upon a short-lived 1993 F1 campaign with McLaren.
The American didn’t get to grips with the series, no doubt hindered by his choice to remain living in the States and commuting across the Atlantic for his Grand Prix activities and he was replaced before the season ended.
His attempt to enter the fold as a team owner was equally unsuccessful, and only in his absence has the rebranded effort succeeded.
General Motors, after all, is one of the biggest car manufacturers in the world, the fifth largest in fact behind Toyota, Volkswagen, Hyundai and Stellantis.
F1 was always encouraged by the fact that General Motors wanted to build its own power unit, with an expected due date of 2028.
This was one part of the Andretti deal that made sense to Formula One Management but as a properly named works entry in Cadillac, itself a well-known brand in the motorsports world thanks to its efforts in the FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA, the team is even more appealing to decision-makers.
Andretti was told to try again once GM was prepared with its engine, but that hurdle is now removed under the revised bid, with Ferrari expected to supply power units and gearbox components to Cadillac for 2026 and 2027.
However, there’s more than just Michael Andretti stepping aside to F1’s quick agreement with General Motors.
Before Las Vegas, Mario Andretti teased that something was coming, but other than that, all was quiet on the F1 front.
Sure, Andretti continued to “work at pace,” but F1 appeared firm on its rejecting stance made in January this year.
Then the US Department of Justice stepped in.
In Springtime, Members of the United States Congress penned a letter to Liberty Media expressing concerns over a violation of antitrust laws in relation to Andretti being barred an entry.
As the year progressed, a probe was launched by the US Department of Justice [DoJ] with which Liberty Media started collaborating.
If you have nothing to fear, you have nothing to hide, but there are whispers and rumours that F1 moved fast to accept General Motors because that wasn’t entirely the case.
Renowned F1 paddock sleuth Joe Saward writes in his Business of Motorsport newsletter that “a WhatsApp group of four or five of the big teams and F1” was being discussed by members of the circus in Vegas.
Saward continues, writing, “the suggestion is that some of the messages provided the [DoJ] with smoking gun evidence of anti-trust behaviour.”
It’s also said that the DoJ received word from an unknown party of the evidence within this alleged group chat.
Because of this, it makes sense for F1 to save face and penalty by seeing through an entry with General Motors.
Sure, for the 10 existing teams, it means sharing a spot of prize money, but it’s hoped in time General Motors will bring enough value to the sport to mitigate this.
If GM’s Cadillac team can succeed on track, particularly with an American driver, F1’s growth in the US will continue to grow and perhaps at an exponential rate.
One thing that remains clear is that Michael Andretti won’t be in the paddock to enjoy it.
Less clear is why F1 was spooked into changing its mind.
READ MORE – F1 agrees ‘in principle’ with General Motors for GM/Cadillac 2026 entry
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