Apparent Andretti ‘opponent’ Toto Wolff breaks silence on the Cadillac team-up

Andretti have faced opposition towards their prospective Formula 1 entry for quite some time now. Now, even after partnering with a big OEM in General Motors (and Cadillac), the response to their potential F1 bid remains lukewarm. There are reports that F1 teams feel the Cadillac partnership is more of a ‘badging exercise’, and that the $200M entry fee is too low compared to the potential revenue dilution. Mercedes’ team principal Toto Wolff has often been considered a ‘prime’ opponent of their entry.

Last year, he had given an interview, where he’d called Andretti a ‘great name’, lauding them for doing ‘great things in the U.S.’ but he was also unsure of what they give to the sport. He instead pointed to an OEM (Porsche, or in his particular example, Audi) as a better entrant to the sport. Well, now, as mentioned previously, Andretti do have a large OEM behind them. Despite this, the vast majority of F1 teams are reportedly opposed to their entry – with the only exception being Alpine.

However, Wolff acknowledged that the Andretti-Cadillac partnership is a ‘positive’: “Cadillac and GM, that’s a statement. Them joining forces with Andretti is definitely a positive.” But, he again showed uncertainty about whether Andretti’s entry would be beneficial or not: “It gives it another angle that may or may not be beneficial for Formula 1. But definitely something… how can I say, find the right word here… nobody would ever question GM or Cadillac’s pedigree in motorsport or as a global auto company.” he told media, including The Race.

Related: ‘It’s all about greed,’ Michael Andretti fires back at detractors of F1 bid

Toto Wolff’s former employee James Vowles weighs in on the Andretti-Cadillac bid

James Vowles, recently appointed as Williams’ team principal (formerly Chief Strategist at Mercedes) was also present with (his former boss) Toto Wolff – who affirmed Vowles’ words as what he himself would have said. The Briton pointed out that Formula 1 is growing every year – any prospective entrants need to show that every other team (and the sport itself) will be in a better position with their entry. Of course, teams have to worry about their own interests as well.

Vowles said: “The truth behind it is that the sport financially is becoming more and more successful. Whoever joins in that environment, effectively needs to bring with it the growth that is required in order for everyone else to be in a better position – or at least a neutral position. And that’s been the statement from the beginning.”

However, the new Williams boss acknowledged there are some very good things stemming from the partnership: “There are a lot of lovely things about Andretti and about Cadillac.” He concluded by saying that Andretti-Cadillac and their potential F1 project needs to have a ‘good understanding’ of what (and how) they can bring to the table: “It just needs to have [a] good understanding of how it will grow the sport and in what way and what the growth will be.”

There is still a long way to go before Andretti’s entry into the sport becomes a real possibility. There’s the apparent disapproval from the teams, but they also have to convince the FIA and Formula 1 (group) itself. FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s recent statements on Twitter are certainly a positive sign, but that does not mean they’ll get in for sure.

In case you missed it:

• Toto Wolff picks Audi over Andretti as a plausible 11th F1 team on the grid
• Michael Andretti puts forth lofty ambitions for team’s F1 project

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