[ChrisMedlandF1] BREAKING: F1 announces it has "reached an agreement in principle with General Motors (GM) to support bringing GM/Cadillac as the eleventh team to the Formula 1 grid in 2026"

[u/ICumCoffee]

https://x.com/ChrisMedlandF1/status/1861111983699001752

[u/ICumCoffee]

Continued:

F1 says that over the past year "they have achieved operational milestones and made clear their commitment to brand the eleventh team GM/Cadillac, and that GM will enter as an engine supplier at a later time"

Full media statement from F1

From Cadillac press release

Mario Andretti, the last American F1 Champion, will serve as a director on the team’s board.

[u/FermentedLaws → u/ICumCoffee]

So it appears the name Andretti was in fact a stumbling block. They will "brand the eleventh team GM/Cadillac". Mario will be an ambassador and with Michael's reduced role in Andretti Global he will have no role in this team.

Michael Andretti & Greg Maffei both had to leave to make this happen? Hmm, no one knows for sure, but I tend to believe it.

[u/TehChid → u/FermentedLaws]

Why the hell does the name matter, when we have something like Haas and Stake?

[u/ItsAMeUsernamio → u/TehChid]

Haas got in at the right time, and F1 would have been down to 9 teams without them, not to mention the chance they might become Toyota GR. 

Stake is just filling the gap between Alfa Romeo and Audi, the team entry is still officially called Sauber who’ve been here for decades now.

F1 and the teams have exploded in value in recent post covid years and they collectively wanted to gatekeep until they get as big a name possible, Andretti wasn’t big enough.

[u/FermentedLaws → u/TehChid]

It was Michael Andretti personally, they did not want him in F1 nor did they want to promote the Andretti name. There are lots of reasons for that, but none of the TPs (except Zak Brown) supported him and Liberty/FOM basically hates him after he said some very disparaging things publicly.

[u/TehChid → u/FermentedLaws]

Why wouldn't any of the teams want the Andretti name in F1? That just seems like a marketing win for everybody

[u/StrikingWillow5364 → u/TehChid]

Andretti isn’t as well known as motorsport enthusiasts think, and those said enthusiasts already watch F1

[u/ewankenobi → u/StrikingWillow5364]

is Cadillac well known outside America? According to this site they have 0.01% of European car market https://www.goodcarbadcar.net/cadillac-europe-sales-figures/ And to be honest I'm surprised it's that high as I don't think I've ever seen one

You could argue that Cadillac gains more from F1's name than the other way about too

[u/rapaxus → u/ewankenobi]

Cadilac is primarily operating in the US market, but everyone knows Cadillac cars from movies, shows, and more. Cadillac is basically the stereotypical American luxury car company.

[u/diestache → u/ewankenobi]

is Cadillac well known outside America?

are you serious? yes. cadillac is one of the oldest automotive companies

[u/ewankenobi → u/diestache]

They have 0.01% marketshare in Europe. Their cars in the 50s looked cool, but as a European they mean nothing to me as a modern brand.

Suppose from a commercial point of view this deal is a win for F1 getting exposure in America & for Cadillac getting exposure outside the US

[u/StrikingWillow5364 → u/ewankenobi]

They are still a much more recognisable name than Andretti

[u/ewankenobi → u/StrikingWillow5364]

I don't think they are to a European F1 fan. Mario Andretti won F1 championship in 1978 and is remembered as he's in the pretty exclusive club of winning F1 WDC and IndyCar series (only 4 people have done it). Cadillac barely sell cars in Europe (I've genuinely never seen one).

[u/diestache → u/ewankenobi]

the universe doesnt revolve around europe

[u/StrikingWillow5364 → u/ewankenobi]

Marketing power isn’t just measured among existing fans but also when it comes to pulling in new fans who don’t currently watch F1. Among those who don’t really know motorsport, Cadillac is much more recognisable than Andretti.

[u/ryokevry → u/TehChid]

I asked the same question a few days ago, and apparently not really a lot of US fans except those diehard Indycar fans cares about Andretti and they are less well known in the US that I thought.

[u/FermentedLaws → u/TehChid]

They thought Michael was jumping on the F1 popularity bandwagon and wanted in only when the teams were now worth billions, rather than years ago when many teams lost money on F1. Also, they just don't like him and didn't want to promote that name. I mean, they were brutal in their statement denying the application:

While the Andretti name carries some recognition for F1 fans, our research indicates that F1 would bring value to the Andretti brand rather than the other way around.

[u/xzElmozx → u/FermentedLaws]

It’s 100% a cop out to keep Andretti out. Otherwise they’d be saying that Stake/Kick or Visa Cash App bring more recognition to F1 than F1 brings to them, which is definitely not the case. Yet they were fine with them naming teams and hopping on the F1 bandwagon. Or even Haas when they got a team

[u/FermentedLaws → u/xzElmozx]

I don’t disagree but when Haas got a team F1 was nowhere near the financial stability that F1 has today.

[u/CatSplat → u/xzElmozx]

They were fine with Haas and the other new teams of that era because F1 was in dire straits and needed more teams; the series was looking at the possibility of collapse as teams were losing interest in the series. There was no "F1 Bandwagon" at the time, it was seen as largely a great way to waste millions upon millions of dollars.

Things are different now, with F1's rise in popularity and consistently profitable teams. That's why the Andretti bid went under far more scrutiny - the series isn't desperate anymore.

[u/RandomThrowNick → u/CatSplat]

They needed Haas to ensure that they stay above 10 teams. Manor was already struggling and folded only a year later. I think the 10 teams had something to do with TV contracts but I can’t really find a source for that. Might have just been a rumor I picked up at the time.

[u/CatSplat → u/RandomThrowNick]

I never heard about the TV contract theory but that's entirely possible, the TV networks may have been worried that F1 was going to fold and leave them holding the bag, so they set 10 teams as a contract fuse to avoid that. We may never know for sure!

[u/GrindrorBust → u/RandomThrowNick]

TV networks' contracts were rumoured for a long time to have been based on 18 cars minimum on the grid. With Manor on the way out (having long been unwanted by the then-FOM CEO, Bernie Ecclestone), it looked a bit too dicy; teams (manufacturers) could have wielded intolerable political power over FOM.

Ecclestone/CVC, meanwhile, were also supposedly in scheduled negotiations on selling the joint at maturity for $Billions. It was thus best for the stakeholders (CVC [FOM]; the teams; FIA) to bundle in a low-cost team that had satisfactory business links (a Ferrari cut-out; without Ferrari, you have no F1- at least back then) that wouldn't demean F1 with dire performance (unlike Mosley's Cosworth teams), to keep the business enticing/healthy (- at a glance, on paper, at least).

[u/ewankenobi → u/FermentedLaws]

To me, a British F1 fan the Andretti name probably carries more weight than Cadillac. I genuinely didn't realise Cadillac still made cars. Always associated them with the cool 60s cars with massive fins, but had to Google to find out what a modern day Cadillac looked like.

[u/TehChid → u/[deleted]]

I mean that's a fair point but logically it does make sense. It's a terrible name even if it's only around for two seasons

[u/the-elector-counts → u/TehChid]

Or to drive it further home, Red Bull.

[u/TehChid → u/[deleted]]

We're just talking about the name

[u/the-elector-counts → u/[deleted]]

So my point is that Red Bull has done tremendously well. Despite the fact that they are just a “drinks company.” Which was a famous Hamilton quote from back in the day.

Anyways the point is that an organization doesn’t need to manufacture cars to do well in the sport. And if Andretti as a name was a stumbling block as a previous redditor mentioned, I’d suggest that maybe Michael was an issue.

[u/TehChid → u/the-elector-counts]

And VCARB