MADRID, 1 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Andretti Cadillac team was “in total disagreement” with Formula 1's decision to deny its entry into the competition from 2026 on the understanding that “it would not contribute value in itself” to the World Cup, a decision that leaves it “devastated” to the team, which did not indicate what will happen now with the project.
Formula 1, through an extensive statement on its website this Wednesday, expressed that the Andretti team, with the strong support of General Motors (GM) through its Cadillac brand, “would not” be “a competitive participant” for the World Cup of the largest motorsport competition.
“The need for any new team to have a mandatory supply of power units, potentially over a period of several seasons, would be detrimental to the prestige and position of the championship,” argued F1, after the FIA granted Andretti a license at the end of 2023, which will now have to wait at least until 2028.
To do this, General Motors will have to create its own power units to enter the World Championship in a minimum of four years. Until then, the management leadership of Formula 1 does not welcome the entry of an eleventh team on the grid. “It would not, by itself, add value to the championship,” they explained in their statement.
The Andretti team responded hours later with another note in which they acknowledged that they “totally disagree” with this decision. “Andretti and Cadillac are two successful global automotive organizations committed to creating a truly American team in Formula 1, competing alongside the best in the world,” they said.
“We are proud of the important progress we have already made in the development of a highly competitive car and a power unit with an experienced group behind it, and our work continues at a good pace,” they explained without specifying what the short-medium future looks like. term of Andretti's project in F1.
Before this statement, Mario Andretti, 1978 Formula 1 world champion and father of Andretti Autosport owner Michael Andretti, confessed to being “devastated” with the decision. “I won't say anything else because I can't find any other words other than devastated,” the 83-year-old former pilot wrote on the 'X' social network.