“There is still a long way to go,” Cadillac unaffected by unfavorable treatment from F1 paddock

“There is still a long way to go,” Cadillac unaffected by unfavorable treatment from F1 paddock

Michael & Mario Andretti with Zac Brown

Michael Andretti recently announced his intentions to enter Formula One as the 11th team in partnership with American automotive giant, Cadillac. Andretti has been very vocal of his Formula One aspirations in the past but negotiations have never led to agreements. Andretti’s most recent attempt seems to have had positive impact. Mainly due to the FIA’s eagerness to have more teams on the grid.

While the fans are ecstatic at the possibility of having more cars on the grid, existing teams have expressed aversion to the idea. The teams split the revenue generated by Formula One amongst themselves to run operations and turn profits. Addition of another team would mean lesser revenue for existing teams. Interestingly, teams such as Ferrari and Williams earn a ‘heritage bonus’ for being part of the sport for so long. This is above and beyond the money they receive for competing and winning.

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The FIA have expressed desire to start the process for entry of newcomers into the sport. Notably, newcomers have to submit an ‘entry-fee’ of $200 Million as an expression of interest. The last team to have gone through this process was Haas F1, who responded to a call launched in 2013 and officially entered F1 in 2016. The teams have reportedly asked for an increase in the ‘entry-fee’ requirement, taking the cost up to $700 Million.

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Related: “Any conversations around buying McLaren is a non-starter” : Zak Brown

Cadillac is confident of F1 partnership with Andretti Motorsport

Andretti-Cadillac
Andretti-Cadillac

In an interview with Motorsport.com, Cadillac Vice-President, Rory Harvey reinforced his commitment to F1. “We would not have announced our intention to submit a declaration of interest if we did not believe that this proposal met the requirements and provided us with the means to succeed.” he said.

Harvey then proceeded to express his conviction regarding the partnership with Andretti. “I know the Andretti organization is super excited. We are sure that the [ partnership with Andretti ] is wonderful and makes us capable of being effective. We are sure that we have a variety of skills within organizations, which means that we can use the expertise of both parties to set up a package that will ensure our competitiveness.” he continued.

Although the resistance from F1 teams may seem to be excessive, Harvey assures Cadillac is not discouraged by the hostility. While there may be a lot of work to be done before fans can witness the Andretti name back on the grid, Cadillac remains positive of their chances. It will be interesting to see how the FIA and Andretti-Cadillac navigate the next few months which could very well make or break their chances of entering the sport.

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