The ‘massive headache’ blocking Cadillac F1 and Andretti FE synergy

Even though the incoming Cadillac F1 team will continue to have ties with Andretti Global’s IndyCar and Formula E programs, Andretti FE team principal Roger Griffiths has admitted that finding any crossover can result in a “massive headache.”

That’s all thanks to the strict nature of Formula 1’s cost cap, which erects strict limitations on the ways the various teams can work together.

Cost cap preventing Cadillac F1 and Andretti Global from working together

Since Andretti Global announced that it had filed an official Expression of Interest with the FIA regarding forming a Formula 1 team, there have been hopes that, if the were to be accepted, it would be able to collaborate with its Andretti counterparts in other sports — particularly the Andretti Global Formula E team.

Another FIA-sanctioned championship, Formula E is an all-electric open-wheel series that just wrapped up its 11th season last month. Though F1 retains an internal combustion engine as a major part of its power unit, the sport’s move to an equal distribution of power between the ICE and electric motors in the hybrid unit had many in the Andretti camp hoping there could be a certain level of cross-over between Formula E and Formula 1, even now that Andretti Global’s F1 entry has been rebranded as Cadillac F1.

However, Andretti Global FE team principal Roger Griffiths has pointed out that F1’s cost cap would make any kind of collaboration of that kind a “massive headache.”

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In an interview with RacingNews365, Griffiths admitted that, “Certainly, in the early days, we had those conversations. But there’s one thing that’s causing a massive headache that’s kind of preventing all of that, and that’s the cost cap.

“The way the Formula 1 cost cap is administrated, it makes it super difficult to have that joint support, transfer of information, transfer of technology, there needs to be really clear boundaries between the various programmes.

“And I think that’s going to make it very difficult. I mean, it doesn’t prevent us from talking, certainly, I’ve had a number of [conversations].”

The cost cap is a financial regulation designed to reign in excessive spending in order to provide a more level playing field for the F1 teams at the top and the bottom of the grid.

Cost cap regulations are extensive and cover everything from car components, garage equipment, spare parts, and more.

It’s that “car components” part that provides a particular challenge, because it includes everything from the wheel nuts to the software required to run an electric motor as part of the overall power unit.

If Cadillac were to implement some software it had developed for its FE machine into its F1 car, then it is highly likely the FIA would need to determine whether or not the developmental costs of the FE software should be included in the F1 cost cap.

And if cost caps are breached, there are a range of possibilities for punishment, including everything points deductions for “minor” overspends to being disqualified from F1 overall for “major” overspends, which are characterized by spending five percent more than the cost cap.

Griffiths continued, “Ultimately, my boss, Dan Towriss [CEO of TWG Motorsports], is responsible for all of the programmes. So, we talk about how things could work together. We have good relationships.

“But, I think that the reality is it’s going to be super difficult because of the cost cap regulations, it clearly defines how entities can work together within an inter-company arrangement. It’s going to be quite tough.”

Andretti’s Formula E team inspired its Formula 1 bid

In 2023, PlanetF1.com had an opportunity to speak with Roger Griffiths during Extreme E’s season finale, the Copper X Prix, in Chile; Griffiths serves as team principal for both electrified series.

He explained that “[Andretti] had no presence with the FIA before we got involved in Formula E, and through that, we’ve built a very strong relationship with them.

“For two seasons, we were a manufacturer in our own right; it was a huge struggle, but I think the FIA really respected us for what we did and for the way we approached the team.”

Griffiths admitted that he felt the team’s participation in an FIA-sanctioned form of motorsport would help it get a leg-up other teams that may have submitted an Expression of Interest. Though the application did not require teams to have competed in an FIA series, it did ask for “the team’s experience and capabilities in the automobile and/or motorsport sector.”

“We’re becoming known globally; we’re no longer a domestic program in the United States,” Griffiths told PlanetF1.com.

“We use the Formula E team to pioneer at the IndyCar shop. We have a presence at the COP28. We’re trying to sew our programme to the rest of the world — and as a result, Andretti has become a more professional organisation.”

He also pointed out that, much like McLaren Racing with its various teams in racing disciplines across multiple series, Andretti felt it had benefitted from casting its racing net into a much wider pool. Not only could sponsors move from one sport to the other, but so too could personnel who were interested in developing their talent.

However, much has changed since that 2023 conversation, including the reduced role of Michael Andretti, his replacement by Dan Towriss, and the trading of the Andretti name with that of Cadillac.

Opportunities for potential crossover between series still exists, but as Griffiths points out, it’ll all need to be done by the book.

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