LAS VEGAS — General Motors is edging toward securing a place on the Formula One grid with its own team as early as 2026 when the field could expand to 11 teams.
First reported by the Associated Press on Thursday, multiple sources have confirmed to The Athletic that the bid initially put forward by Andretti Global, which was rejected by F1 at the end of January, has gained fresh momentum in recent weeks thanks to General Motors’ involvement.
It comes following a restructuring of the senior management at Andretti which included the exit of Michael Andretti, the chairman and CEO, from an operational role, handing the reins over to Dan Towriss, who took an ownership stake in Andretti Global in 2022.
Towriss has been on site ahead of this weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix, which staged its opening practice sessions on Thursday evening.
Andretti’s proposal always heavily leaned on involvement from General Motors, which planned to build its own F1 power unit from 2028 and enter the sport through its Cadillac brand.
The Athletic revealed in the days prior to the F1 rejection announcement that the prototype Andretti F1 car, a version of which was already in the wind tunnel, was in development with significant input from General Motors’ engineers.
But concerns over the quality of the entry, which F1 referred to as “a novice constructor” when detailing its decision, and the gap until General Motors would built its own engine in 2028, prompted it to reject the bid in January.
It sparked outcry from the Andretti family and also led to the Department of Justice’s antitrust division to launch an investigate F1’s owner, Liberty Media, over the decision. Liberty maintained that it would fully cooperate with the DOJ’s investigation.
F1 said when rejecting Andretti that it “would look differently on an application for the entry of a team into the 2028 championship with a GM power unit, either as a GM works team or as a GM customer team designing all allowable components in-house.” The possibility of having another sizable automaker, particularly in the United States at a time when the sport has enjoyed rapid American growth, has always appealed to F1.
It is understood there could be an announcement in the near future from F1 providing an update on the process regarding General Motors’ bid as it takes over the Andretti project.
F1’s current 10 teams have always been lukewarm to the possibility of expanding the grid. Under the existing commercial terms, General Motors would be required to pay an anti-dilution fee that would be split between the existing 10 teams due to the change in the prize money revenue.
But a sign of a softening in the stance toward General Motors joining the grid as an 11th team came in Thursday’s FIA press conference ahead of the Las Vegas GP, featuring Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff and Ferrari F1 chief Fred Vasseur, both of whom seemed receptive to the possibility.
“I think if a team can add to the championship, particularly if GM decides to come in as a team owner, that is a different story,” Wolff said. “As long as it is accretive, that means we’re growing the popularity of the sport, we’re growing the revenue of the sport, then no team will be ever against it. So I’m putting my hope in there.”
Vasseur noted that the teams did not have a say in the matter, with the decision lying solely with F1. “For sure, as Toto said, that if it’s good for the sport, good for the show, good for the business, and add value on the sporting side, that we are all OK,” Vasseur said. “But again, the decision is with FOM.”
F1 declined to comment on the topic when contacted by The Athletic.
(David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
