The name 'Andretti' is one of the most respected in worldwide motorsport, and the clan is the closest thing to America’s first family of motorsport - although the Pettys and Earnhardts may would surely argue that point. Together with his father, 1978 F1 World Champion Mario, Michael Andretti has created a motorsport powerhouse for which the younger is widely respected - but the respect he craved in securing that precious F1 grid slot was not reciprocated by current stakeholders. Clearly there was a missing element.
Andretti bid with General Motors backing
F1's current American team, Haas are unlikely to be in a place to challenge for World Championships in the near future. Currently their best results are fourth-place finishes and the shock pole position during last season's Brazilian GP. But, make no mistake, Andretti Autosport - should their bid be accepted - will be entering F1 to win. Second place is not something in the Andretti vocabulary. An American team competitive in F1 could be just the thing needed to turbocharge the sport’s already stunning growth seen Stateside over recent years - with there being no better representative than the Andretti name which is familiar to households from Maine through the wetlands of Mississippi and rural flatness of Kansas to the Rockies in Colorado. Despite this, the F1 dream was far from reality for Mario and Michael until their coup of obtaining the backing of one of the world's biggest car companies - one never seen in F1 before – via the General Motors Cadillac division. This provides the final piece in the Andretti's jigsaw: credibility. With various manufacturers increasingly targeting F1 in 2026, the potential arrival of GM’s luxury division is gold dust. Volkswagen’s Audi brand are already signed up for 2026, coming aboard with Sauber, while Honda has signalled its intentions of remaining as power unit supplier after previously giving notice of exit. But, a massive gap in the American market remains after the departure of Ford from Grand Prix racing during the early 2000s. General Motors and Cadillac are poised to fill it - delivering much needed credibility, more than possibly even the Andrettis knew they needed.
What do they say about it?
"We've been talking for about four or five months," Andretti explained when asked by media, including RacingNews365.com, of the tie-up with GM. "One of the big things [being asked by F1] was: 'What is Andretti bringing to the party?' Well, we're bringing one of the biggest manufacturers in the world with us in General Motors [and] in Cadillac. "We feel that was the box we didn't have checked - and we do have that checked now and it will bring a tremendous amount of support to Formula 1. It's hard for anyone to argue with that now. "We feel very confident that once the expression of interest goes out, having our great partnership with Cadillac, we have a very, very, very good shot of checking every box and being able to be on the grid soon." The prospect of Andretti entering by themselves was not enough to satisfy F1, but now they've got General Motors and Cadillac in tow it would prove very difficult for anyone to turn the bid down.
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