The Cadillac Formula 1 team advisor Mario Andretti believes rejecting the General Motors-backed project wouldn’t have gone down well in the United States of America.
An agreement was reached between F1 and the American brand to enter as the 11th team in the sport for 2026, with 22 drivers set to race in the sport for the first time since 2016.
GM will work alongside another American company, the racing organization Andretti Global when it enters the sport.
The project has been in the works for many years and was originally fronted by Michael Andretti – the son of the 1978 F1 World Champion.
The bid was accepted by the FIA before being rejected by F1 itself, inviting Andretti to try again in 2028 when GM had signed up to supply power units to the proposed squad.
However, the 62-year-old soon left the project with GM taking control of the proposal, which was later accepted by F1 with an official confirmation due by the end of this month.
Mario maintains that it doesn’t matter what name the team races under as long as it can compete in the sport.
But he argues that it would have been a problem if it wasn’t allowed to.
“It’s about the cause, no matter what it’s called,” Andretti told Auto Motor und Sport.
“The important thing is that it succeeds.
“The project would not have been born without us, and it would not have reached General Motors without us.
“It would have been a big mistake to reject us.
“It would not have been well received in America.
“This is not a bubble, but a long-term commitment.”
Andretti provides insight into 2026 Cadillac line-up
Haas was the last new team to enter the motorsport category, becoming the 11th team on the grid in 2016.
Since then there have only been 10 teams on the grid after MRT, the Manor Racing Team, left ahead of the 2017 season.
With that, comes two open slots for 2026, and there are plenty of drivers who are currently without a full-time seat in F1.
The likes of Valtteri Bottas, Sergio Perez, Kevin Magnussen and Zhou Guanyu have been discussed.
As the team is racing under a US nationality, Andretti has inferred that bringing in an American driver is a consideration.
Multiple-time IndyCar winner Colton Herta has been named as one of the leading candidates for one of the seats.
Posed to him about the potential deal to bring in Herta for 2026, he stated that Cadillac needs a driver with experience in the sport.
“You mentioning candidates, he’s definitely one that’s considered,” Andretti told NBC News.
“From our standpoint, I think the play at the beginning would be to have one experienced driver – nationality doesn’t matter – and then a young American talent.
“These are the objectives at the moment.”
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