Cadillac To Formula 1 w/Andrett Autosport?

[Webster]

Cadillac To F1 With Andretti

 

[Nebulous]

I've always saw Cadillac's as slow / heavy vehicles for older people.

 

[Webster]

I've always saw Cadillac's as slow / heavy vehicles for older people.

 

[Nebulous]

They are exactly that. Pull up some data on who buys and drives their cars

 

[Webster]

"Majority" of F1 Teams Against Andretti

 

[Webster]

BBC Sport: Andretti bid row reflects turbulent relationship among F1's powerbrokers

There is a storm brewing in Formula 1.

On the face of it, the dispute has blown up over the potential entry of the US-based Andretti team with car company Cadillac.

But this is just the medium through which it is being played out. In reality, it's about the usual - power, money and influence.

And while the debate could have been handled behind closed doors, the governing body's president Mohammed Ben Sulaymen has gone public.

In doing so, he has provided a window into the latest in a series of disagreements between the FIA, commercial rights holder F1 and the teams that have marked his tenure since he took office at the end of 2021.

What is the dispute about?
At its core, the row revolves around the desire of US racing legend Michael Andretti to enter F1 with his own team.

First, the 60-year-old tried to buy the Sauber team last year. When that fell through, Andretti announced plans to set up his own team. That, too, was met with reluctance from F1's power brokers, who were not convinced the project was solid enough to add the required value to a sport that is experiencing a significant growth in global interest, especially in the USA. Andretti was effectively told: "Go away and find a car manufacturer to support your bid, and we'll look at it again."

So he did. He landed a big one - American icon General Motors, formerly the world's biggest car company and still one of the largest, announced last week that it would join forces with Andretti using its luxury brand Cadillac.

Andretti now feels he has done enough, and the FIA also sounded convinced, saying in a statement last week that it was "particularly pleasing to have interest from two iconic brands." But F1 was lukewarm. It talked about the "great interest in the F1 project at this time, with a number of conversations continuing that are not as visible as others", adding: "Any new entrant request requires the agreement of both F1 and the FIA."

On Sunday, Ben Sulaymen put out another statement on Twitter. "It is surprising that there has been some adverse reaction to the Cadillac and Andretti Global news," he wrote. "We should be encouraging prospective entries from global manufacturers like GM and thoroughbred racers like Andretti and others."

The odd thing about this was that there had not been any "adverse reaction" to the Andretti news - at least not publicly. Insiders say Ben Sulayem's tweet was likely in response to the cool response to the Andretti announcement from F1, and opposition to the bid behind closed doors from existing teams, who don't have an official say in the process but certainly have a powerful voice. An FIA spokesperson said on Monday: "The FIA has not made any indication or comment on the potential success or otherwise of any organisations who express their interest in entering the championship."

They added that the process would "follow strict FIA protocol and take several months."

Andretti bid row reflects troubled times in F1

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulaymen's vocal support for the mooted Andretti team reflects a wider power struggle at the heart of F1, writes Andrew Benson.

www.bbc.com