Formula 1 decision-makers announced on Monday that they have reached an agreement in principle with General Motors, which could be the 11th team in the world championship field from 2026.
On the website of the series, it was announced that they had reached an agreement with the car manufacturer, so the American one With the GM/Cadillac team 22 drivers will be able to compete in Formula 1. The stable will initially use Ferrari engines, but later – expectedly from 2028 – it will also produce its own resources according to the agreement.
It was impossible to say no to this request
The addition of a prominent American manufacturer with a significant motorsport history to the grid may bring fresh energy and perspective to the sport, but it also means that the prize money will be divided even more. This will be the first new team in the series since Haas joined in 2016.
F1 has previously stated that it is open to a GM factory team. When Michael Andretti’s large-scale request was rejected, F1 said it would look differently at a team’s request to enter the 2028 championship that had General Motors resources — either as a GM factory team or a GM customer team — and had all permitted components in-house. is planning
Image: General Motors
According to the company’s announcement, Mario Andretti, the last American F1 world champion, will be on the team’s board of directors as a director. The now 84-year-old former competitor said: “My first love was Formula 1 and now – 70 years later – the paddock is still the place of my happiness. I am absolutely delighted with Cadillac and Formula 1” – quoted a The Athletic Andrettit.
According to GM, the other involved player is TWG Global, a holding company that owns and operates Andretti Global.
GM would demonstrate its technological expertise in a new field
There was enormous euphoria at General Motors after the announcement, the president of the company feels that their brand value can rise to an unprecedented level. “As the pinnacle of motorsport, Formula 1 demands boundary-pushing innovation and excellence. General Motors and Cadillac are honored to join the world’s premier racing series and are committed to racing with passion and integrity to elevate the sport for fans around the world. This is a global stage for us to demonstrate GM’s engineering expertise and technology leadership on a whole new level.” Mark Reuss said.
The other big player, CEO of TWG Global’s motorsports business, Dan Towriss, reported that their company is quite excited about bringing a dynamic presence to F1 in collaboration with General Motors. He also said that the two of them could form a world-class team that could embody American innovation.
Why did F1 change its mind?
As mentioned above, the management of the sport previously rejected Michael Andretti’s request. At the time, they argued that the offer would not represent any progress or any serious added value for F1. In fact, they went straight to the point that an 11th team would mean nothing to the series. However, they emphasized that
they will think more seriously about hiring an 11th stable if it would be competitive and not only that investors point of view would be useful.
What happened then? The sharp-eyed experts noticed that the F1 announcement does not mention Michael Andretti in the announcement, and that TWG head Dan Towris, who took over the management of Andretti Global when the latter stepped down from management, is also mentioned only once.
It’s no secret that the management of F1 and Michael Andretti have never been on the same wavelength, and no one has hidden their dislike for the other.
And the fact that Andretti left the daily life of the company prompted the prominent figures in the king category of the sport to reconsider.
According to the news, the decisive point was that Towriss understood and accepted that if he really wants to be a part of the World Cup, he needs to involve General Motors more, because this part of the business is the most attractive for the management of the sport. To be more accessible: Andretti’s offer stated that Andretti cars with GM engines will appear in the racing series, but Towriss has already talked about GM-Cadillac cars, which from 2028 will be on the grid with their own equipment as a full-fledged factory team.
The president whispered
It is important to know that Mohammed Bin Sulaym played an extremely important role in the case. The president of the FIA was a decisive character in the fact that General Motors promised factory engines. In addition, he was the one who ensured that the plan for an 11th team was not completely destroyed after Andretti’s rejection. He also encouraged GM to come up with revolutionary innovations at the association – according to his views at the time, it was possible to get into a winning position as a candidate with technological renewal.
Mohammed Bin Sulaym talks to Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
It should be known about Sulaim that even earlier he was accused of abusing his power as an influential member on two occasions last year.
- First in Saudi Arabia, where he allegedly pressured Fernando Alonso’s penalty to be overturned,
- then in Las Vegas, where he allegedly tried to block the track’s approval.
The FIA found both accusations unfounded, and since then many federations and member organizations have stood up for Bin Sulaym, urging the international federation to take legal action against the accuser.
Conquering the new market will benefit the income
A few weeks ago, General Motors published its quarterly report, according to which the American car manufacturer’s profit decreased slightly in the third quarter, but reported sales that exceeded market expectations.
In the three months ending at the end of September, the profit after tax was 3.056 billion dollars, minimally less than the 3.064 billion dollars a year earlier.
at the same time, earnings per share increased from $2.20 to $2.68.
Earnings per share excluding one-time items were $2.96.
GM’s sales increased by 10.5 percent to 48.76 billion dollars. A weaker figure, 44.67 billion dollars, was included in the average of analyst expectations.
General Motors’ vehicle sales fell to 1.48 million in the third quarter of this year from 1.62 million a year earlier.
The company’s management approved the payment of a dividend of 12 cents per share, which is higher than the 9 cents a year earlier.
Source: www.economx.hu
