Michael Andretti has spoken about the continued resistance against his bid to bring Andretti Autosport into Formula 1 since he revealed General Motors is now part of the entry plans.
Last week it was announced that GM, one of the world’s largest automotive producers, had joined forces with Andretti to work on joining F1 via its Cadillac brand.
That would mark the first time an American automotive manufacturer has been directly involved in F1 since the Ford-owned Jaguar team of the early 2000s, and Andretti would only be F1’s second American-registered team in almost 50 years.
In an interview with American business magazine Forbes, team founder Andretti talked about the F1 paddock’s negative response to his plans, which could not come into fruition until 2026 at the earliest when new engine regulations are introduced.
“It’s all about money. First, they think they are going to get diluted one-tenth of their prize money, but they also get very greedy thinking we will take all the American sponsors as well,” Andretti said.
“It’s all about greed and looking at themselves and not looking at what is best for the overall growth of the series.”
Andretti already competes outside of America, with a Porsche-powered squad in Formula E and co-ownership of the Walkinshaw Andretti United team in the Australian Supercars championship.
The ‘United’ part of the team name comes from Zak Brown’s United Autosports team, and that partnership has led to Andretti having a useful ally in the F1 paddock in the form of McLaren Racing CEO Brown.
“Zak wants to do whatever he can to help us get there and so has Alpine as well,” Andretti told Forbes. “Zak Brown and Alpine are two very good allies. Zak has been very supportive.”
Andretti previously tried to acquire the Force India (now Aston Martin) and Sauber (which runs Alfa Romeo) teams. Alpine’s engine manufacturer Renault had been tipped as a power unit supplier for Andretti’s team.
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