Behind-the-scenes politics over Andretti bid exposed by FIA president

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem said unnamed figures in Formula 1 had pressed him to convince General Motors to buy an existing team, as the Andretti-Cadillac saga rolls on.

The FIA has now given approval for a new team, formed by a collaboration between Andretti Autosport and General Motors brand Cadillac, to join the Formula 1 grid.

The next stage though is to convince Formula 1 management, with Liberty Media at the helm, to open the door for Andretti-Cadillac, though their interest has received far from a warm welcome from that side of the fence.

FIA president resists calls to send GM down different path

The opposition of the Formula 1 teams to Andretti-Cadillac ultimately boils down to money, with the current $200 million ant-dilution fee, which any new entrant must pay to be split between the existing teams, seen as far short of the value required.

Of course, the way around that fee and an extra slice of the revenue pie being cut would be for Andretti-Cadillac to buy an existing team, Michael Andretti having fallen narrowly short of achieving in that in past negotiations with Sauber.

However, while Ben Sulayem was not giving any names, he revealed pressure was placed on him from within F1 to convince General Motors to purchase an existing team and enter as an OEM [Original Equipment Manufacturer] that way.

“You cannot force Andretti/GM to buy another team just because they [the owners] want to sell,” Ben Sulayem told Reuters.

“I won’t mention names but they were after me to go on and convince GM to do that. It’s not my job. I was not elected to do that. I am not a broker.”

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So, with Andretti-Cadillac over the FIA hurdle, Ben Sulayem warned Formula 1 that “saying no to a team which has been approved by the FIA – it’s very hard”, as he stressed that the FIA should be “begging” OEMs like GM to join the grid.

He also tackled a non-financial reason for Andretti-Cadillac not joining which has been brought up, with Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko recently casting doubt over the ability of most circuits to accommodate an 11th team.

The FIA president countered that by highlighting that an 11th team is already on the scene, that being ‘Apex’, for the filming of a Lewis Hamilton-linked film staring Brad Pitt.

“The FIA should be asking, begging, OEMs to come in,” he said. “We should not just say no to them.

“The teams are looking at the piece of cake. I understand their worries…but our worries are different.

“If you say: ‘What is my dream?’ It is to fill up the 12 [team slots] and to have one US team from an OEM and a [power unit] and a driver from there. And then go to China maybe and ask for the same thing and do it.

“We are allowed to have 12 teams [in the rules]. Some of the teams said ‘Oh, it will be crowded’. Really? We are already running a Hollywood team with us.

“The circuits are supposed to have enough garages and space for 12 teams…I think the number of races is too much [rather] than the number of teams. We need more teams and fewer races.”

While it is believed that Renault would initially power Andretti-Cadillac should they join the Formula 1 grid, General Motors are looking into the prospect of becoming a power unit manufacturer from 2027.

Read next: FIA president dismisses F1 team Andretti resistance: ‘It’s about money’