🏎 Andretti and Cadillac: A Match Made in F1 Heaven?

Posted by eRacr.gg January 6, 2023 in The Money Lap

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Good morning! Sorry about the formatting in our last newsletter. Don’t worry, we fired the guy who was responsible. Now if you don’t live under a rock, you’ve probably heard about Andretti Global partnering with GM to boost their bid to join F1.

We thought that this was such exciting news that it warranted this impromptu newsletter! In this edition, you can read all about the partnership, stay up to date on the latest happenings in motorsports, and read Parker’s thoughts on F1’s success in America.


Andretti Global Revs up F1 Bid with Cadillac Partnership

Andretti Global and General Motors have announced their intention to compete in the FIA Formula One World Championship, with GM being represented by its Cadillac brand. The team, called Andretti Cadillac, will be based in the US with a support facility in the UK and is planning to submit an Expression of Interest when the FIA opens the formal process. If selected, the team hopes to compete as soon as possible with at least one American driver.

“We are continuing to grow Andretti Global and its family of racing teams and always have our eyes on what’s next. I feel that we are well suited to be a new team for Formula One and can bring value to the series and our partners, and excitement for the fans. I’m proud to have GM and Cadillac alongside us as we pursue this goal,” says Michael Andretti, Chairman and CEO of Andretti Global.

Cadillac has a successful track record in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and Pirelli World Challenge, and will continue to compete in sports car racing with the all-new hybrid Cadillac V-LMDh in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the FIA World Endurance Championship. Andretti Global currently competes in seven top-tier series around the world.

“We now have the opportunity to combine our motorsport passions and dedication to innovation to build a true American F1 bid.”

Reactions


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Parker’s POV

Yesterday’s announcement by the Andretti family and Cadillac that they are making a bid to join the F1 grid is significant. Not only because of its shock value, but mostly because of how the Andretti family has been treated in the past when expressing interest in joining the F1 grid. They had previously shown that they had the backing of wealthy Americans and clearly knew racing. However, they received a lot of backlash from other teams, particularly Toto Wolff of Mercedes, because they felt that the Andretti name alone was not enough to bring value to F1 without an OEM attached.

In their view, an OEM must be a part of the new team because they will spend as much on their program as they do on advertising their involvement, which is good for the series. Alternatively, it must be a group so outside the motorsports realm that it brings in a whole new set of eyes. The Andretti family did not fit either of those criteria – until now. This partnership will likely be taken more seriously, but knowing F1, it is not a done deal yet – fingers crossed.

It’s truly wild to witness what has occurred in the seven years since Liberty Media bought F1. I’ve been watching F1 for a long time. In 1999, at the age of nine, I saw racing for the first time and it was F1. I knew immediately that it was where I wanted to go. However, by the time I was 16 and trying to secure funding to go to Europe to pursue my dream, I kept facing an issue. When I mentioned F1, people would look at me, tilt their head and reply, “Do you mean NASCAR?” F1 was not a term that people recognized aside from on a keyboard.

Yet this year, F1 will have a US driver on the grid, a hit reality show in US living rooms, three races in the US, an experience center in Las Vegas, and when I walk through the Charlotte airport (the home of NASCAR), the Tumi store has a massive poster of F1 driver Lando Norris.

By the end of the year, we may also learn that F1 will have two American-owned teams, in addition to the American media company that owns it. It’s clear that the series is not only owned by Americans, but is American. In just seven years, the United States has taken over the world’s largest motorsport series.

What a time to be alive.


ONBOARD OF THE DAY

1978 On Board Mario Andretti / F1 Lotus Ford


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