22/11/2024
NEWS STORY
American manufacturer GM is looking set to secure a place on the F1 grid amidst claims that Andretti will not be involved.
While almost all the teams had rejected Andretti's bid to enter the sport, there was clearly a personal agenda between Liberty CEO Greg Maffei and Michael Andretti.
A restructuring at Andretti Global which saw Dan Towriss take the reins of the American outfit suggested a possible easing of the hostilities, while the news that Maffei is to step down gave even more hope.
However, it appears that instead, Andretti's engine partner GM is to enter the sport without the American outfit.
Quite how it would work remains to be seen for GM would enter as a team in 2026 using customer engines until its own power units were available in 2028.
The teams had mainly objected to Andretti's entry on the grounds that it would reduce the pot in terms of the prize money, hence suggestions that the American outfit pay two or three times the going rate in order to secure an entry... yet even that was unacceptable.
The news that Andretti had partnered with GM changed things, but only to the extent that F1 and the teams made clear that while they wanted the American car giant onboard they remained at odds with the team.
The news comes as F1 is under investigation by US department of justice following its rejection of Andretti, despite the proposed bid getting the thumbs up from the FIA.
"If a team can add to the championship, particularly if GM decides to come in as a team owner, that is a different story," said Toto Wolff in Las Vegas. "And as long as it is creative, that means we're growing the popularity of the sport, we're growing the revenue of the sport, then no team will be ever against it.
"So I'm putting my hope in there," he continued. "No one from Andretti or Andretti global or whatever the name will be has ever spoken to me a single sentence in presentation of what the creative part is. But they don't need to because the teams don't decide. It is the commercial rights holder, with the FIA, we have no say. We can have an opinion, like I'm having here now, it's just if i want to be invited to a party and going to the party, I'm sitting down on the table and telling who I am and why I'm really good fun and sitting here and everybody will enjoy my presence.
"That hasn't happened, but you know, that's now my personal point of view, not a professional, because there's nothing we can do, nothing we can say. And I don't know the people.
"I've obviously spoken to Mario. Yeah, I've spoken to Mario once. I didn't speak to his son. I didn't speak to any other people that are behind that. I don't know who they are. So I know GM. GM is great."
"At the end of the day, I'm not sure that we have our word into the discussion," added Fred Vasseur. "The discussion is between FIA, the team, and FOM. It's not our choice.
"For sure, as Toto said, that if it's good for the sport, good for the show, good for the business, and add value on the sporting side, that we are all okay. But again, the decision is with FOM and not with Toto or myself."
Whatever the issue with Michael Andretti may have been, it would appear that the teams and F1 got their way.
Check out our Thursday gallery from Las Vegas here.