For so long, the messages were mixed.
Formula 1 turned down the Andretti Global project’s bid to join the 2026 grid back in January, and it was not a decision that came as a surprise to anyone within the paddock, or many outside it.
Stefano Domenicali and co had made clear that they felt 10 teams was the right number for the sport at this stage, but that there were enticing elements to the entry that had been lodged. The involvement of General Motors certainly caught the eye of both F1 and the rest of the teams, with Williams team principal James Vowles almost going as far as saying the team shouldn’t be allowed in but he’d like the GM partnership for himself.
But it was the level of that involvement, and the uncertainty regarding its future plans, that played a part in the Andretti Global bid being knocked back at the time. F1 made clear that the door wasn’t closed and that 2028 could well be an option, because at that stage GM was suggesting it would produce its own power unit.
The original entry involved Andretti wanting to use a Renault power unit supply in a partnership that could well have become long-term had GM decided against investing in its own F1 engine department. The idea of re-badging such an engine as a Cadillac did not sit well, even if F1 was not aware that Renault’s future participation could be in doubt.
A touch of skepticism over how serious the GM involvement would be was somewhat understandable, given the recent arrival of Ford in partnership with Red Bull. Christian Horner’s team has welcomed Ford support but been very specific about where it might want help, and is determined to do the majority of the power unit work itself.
To call it solely a sponsorship deal would be unfair, but it’s certainly not a Ford power unit being developed, and does not represent a commitment you could guarantee will still be made in five years’ time.
The idea that GM would build its own power unit was an attractive one, but what was to stop it saying it intended to – in order to help get the entry confirmed – and then exploring customer deals longer-term? That would have resulted in Andretti Global holding a prize asset in terms of the value of the 11th team, at a much lower investment than if there was a power unit project too.
None of that is to say it was ever the intention to pull such a move, but they were the scenarios that F1 was having to consider if it were going to expand the grid. Because F1 is big business, and while the existing teams were thinking with their selfish business hats on and not wanting to divide up the revenues 11 ways over 10, so too the Andretti Global bid – along with the others that made submissions to the FIA – was grounded in being financially viable and lucrative.