Formula 1 In Renewed Talks To Bring General Motors-Backed Team ...

There are 10 teams on the Formula 1 grid for the Las Vegas Grand Prix, but on-going talks could see ... [+] an 11th team added by 2026. (Photo by Jeff Speer/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

For years, Andretti Global pushed to get a U.S. team on the Formula 1 grid, to no avail. After Michael Andretti stepped back from his ownership role and took on ambassador and advisor, questions swirled as to what it meant for the F1 effort. Now, we may know.

Multiple reports are coming out of Las Vegas during this weekend’s F1 Grand Prix that the ownership restructure of Andretti Global talks have restarted which would see a team with General Motors added as the 11th team to the Formula 1 grid. The AP is reporting that Dan Towriss, now the majority owner of the Andretti organization, was at the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Thursday.

As was reported before Michael Andretti stepped down from ownership, Cadillac would supply the power plants, although that would not occur until 2028. Cadillac formally registered with the FIA as a Formula 1 power unit manufacturer last November. Should the team enter the grid in 2026, the team would see the GM brand but work with another engine manufacturer. Currently, Mercedes, Ferrari, Honda RBPT, and Renault supply the current grid.

The question is, what would the team be called? While the FIA approved Andretti Global, Formula 1 would not. Political in nature, the reasons the 10 teams on the grid seemed opposed ranged from concerns about the dilution of the growing revenues coming into F1, to wanting to see the additional value that GM and Cadilliac could bring, to a general dislike of Michael Andretti who was viewed as too public and trying to barge in through the front door.

Given Andretti Global, and Liberty Media, who owns Formula 1, are U.S.-based, officials with the US Department of Justice opened an investigation as to why the team was denied access.

Whether the restructuring at Andretti Global, which has seen GM take more of a lead role, the DOJ investigation, or a general shift on the grid that GM opens doors in the U.S. market that offset the dilution of revenues with one more team on the grid, is unclear, but the tone in Las Vegas seems much different about the prospects.

“We have an obligation, a statutory obligation as directors, to present the standpoint that is the best for our company and for our employees, and we’ve done that,” Wolff said to The Associated Press when asked why the change in possibly allowing a GM team on the grid. “I think if a team can add to the championship, particularly if GM decides to come in as a team owner, that is a different story.

“And as long as it is creative, that means we’re growing the popularity of the sport, we’re growing the revenue of the sport, then no team will be ever against it. So I’m putting my hope in there.”

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