General Motors has explained how the current regulations has prevented it from creating an engine for use in Formula 1 before 2028 amid Andretti’s bid getting referred.
While the FIA accepted Andretti’s proposal in October last year, F1 announced last month that it had turned down the Andretti project’s desire to enter the sport as early as 2026.
F1 had cast doubt on the reliance that Andretti could be a “competitive participant” from the outset and its initial plan to use a customer supply of engines from Renault.
But F1 did disclose that it would reconsider an application come 2028 with the guarantee that General Motors follows through on its scheme to manufacture its own power unit.
Speaking for the first time since the news, GM’s Vice President of Performance and Motorsport Jim Campbell revealed that Andretti’s work was continuing “at pace”.
Campbell also revealed the Andretti Cadillac venture intended to hold a discussion with F1 after an email to arrange such a meeting previously had ended up in a spam folder.
“In terms of our application with Andretti, we feel great about our application,” Campbell said at Daytona.
“The FIA studied it against other applicants, and then gave our application a vote of confidence and approval.
“So obviously the FOM made their statement, and we have asked for a follow up meeting with FOM, and so we will work through that. We do believe between Andretti and Cadillac that we have got the capability of fielding a competitive entry.
“We are not saying that it is easy, but we do between our two organisations have examples in our history of where we have been successful in other motorsports categories, and that is true of Cadillac and Andretti.
“With that said, our joint teams are continuing to develop our car at pace. So, that is where we are at.”
Campbell also made it clear that GM remains committed to working with Andretti and has complete confidence in their combined effort to become the latest entrant into F1.
“As I said, we believe in the application we submitted,” he reiterated. “And in that application we articulated the abilities of both Andretti as a race team, and Cadillac as a manufacturing and engineering entity.
“So, we feel confident in the application and are asking for a meeting with FOM.”
Campbell also clarified that GM’s powertrain construction, which will be branded as a Cadillac, could not be in operation prior to 2028 due to existing regulations in place.
“When you register to be a power unit, there is a deadline to do that, and for us it was last June for 2028,” he explained.
“If you wanted to develop an engine sooner, then you would have had to register the previous year for that. So, it’s simply a regulation.”
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