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      Andretti’s GM-backed entry wanted to enter F1 in 2025, but F1 says no

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Wednesday, 31 January - 18:32 · 1 minute

    BATHURST, NEW SOUTH WALES - OCTOBER 06: Michael Andretti of Andretti Autosport looks on during practice ahead of this weekend's Bathurst 1000, which is part of the Supercars Championship at Mount Panorama on October 6, 2017 in Bathurst, Australia.

    Enlarge / Michael Andretti wants to take his racing empire to Formula 1, but he's facing resistance. (credit: Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images)

    The Formula 1 grid will stay at just 20 cars for the next few years. Earlier today, F1 revealed it has rejected a bid by Andretti Global to join the sport for 2025. The move was not unexpected; neither F1 nor most of the teams have shown any enthusiasm toward Andretti's entry. The sport sent out a lengthy statement explaining its reasons for turning down the Andretti entry but said that "it would look differently on an application" in 2028.

    It's a blow to both Andretti and its fans, but the move also signals increasing disharmony between the FIA, the sport's organizing body, and Liberty Media, which owns the commercial rights to the F1 world championship.

    Andretti Global first announced its plan to enter F1 last January, seeing it as a natural expansion for an organization that already races in IndyCar, Formula E, Extreme E, and IMSA sportscar racing, among other series. A month later the FIA formally opened an application process for new teams to enter the sport, but of the four applicants only Andretti had the backing of a major automaker behind it—in this case General Motors' Cadillac brand.

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      GM will build F1 powertrains in 2028 as long as F1 lets Andretti in

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Tuesday, 14 November - 15:35

    A rendering of the airbox of an F1 car with Andretti Cadillac branding on it

    Enlarge / GM says the only way Cadillac enters F1 is in the back of an Andretti car. (credit: Cadillac)

    At the start of the year, we got the surprising news that Andretti Global was partnering with Cadillac to try to field a team in Formula 1. That has been a contentious process, exposing a rift between the sport's stakeholders, some of whom aren't keen to add a new fish to the pond.

    But on Tuesday, the Andretti Cadillac program got even more serious with the news that General Motors, which owns Cadillac, has now registered as an official F1 powertrain constructor—although only from the 2028 season.

    "We are thrilled that our new Andretti Cadillac F1 entry will be powered by a GM power unit," said GM President Mark Reuss. "With our deep engineering and racing expertise, we're confident we'll develop a successful power unit for the series and position Andretti Cadillac as a true works team. We will run with the very best, at the highest levels, with passion and integrity that will help elevate the sport for race fans around the world."

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      Cadillac wants to enter Formula 1 with Andretti Global

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Thursday, 5 January, 2023 - 17:37 · 1 minute

    Andretti Global and Cadillac logos on a black background

    Enlarge (credit: Cadillac)

    The world of Formula 1 got a shock on Thursday morning when General Motors announced it has plans to enter the championship. GM wants to go F1 racing with its Cadillac brand, partnering with a new Andretti Global team, assuming the sport's organizing body accepts the entry.

    F1 has been fixed at 10 teams since Haas joined the sport in 2016. Since then, the series has introduced a new budget cap that has reined in some of the crazier budgets and made the prospect of operating an F1 team much less of a financial black hole. The exact amount of the cost cap is adjusted depending on how many races are planned for a year— for 2023, that should be $138.6 million —and even finishing in 10th place earns a team enough money to cover about 70 percent of those costs.

    As a result, the sport is now a much more attractive proposition for new entrants than it was the last time we gained new teams in 2010, none of which survived. But there's a snag: You can't just turn up at the start of a season with a couple of cars and expect to go racing. The sport's organizing body, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), requires that any new team "buy in" to the franchise with a $200 million "non-dilution fee" meant to ensure a new competitor doesn't cost the existing 10 teams any of their income.

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