Photo by Arnold Jerocki/FilmMagic
As the Andretti-Cadillac F1 bid forges on, FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem offered a solution at the Monaco Grand Prix
While the 2024 Formula 1 season looks to be providing plenty of drama on the track, another major story continues to off the track. The proposed Andretti-Cadillac partnership has offered no shortage of twists and turns, taking F1 fans from the halls of the United States Congress and beyond.
The latest twist in the saga comes from Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) President Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who during the Monaco Grand Prix offered a solution to the gridlock over the proposed Andretti-Cadillac team. While the FIA approved the bid from Andretti-Cadillac to join the F1 grid, Formula One Management (FOM), the sport’s commercial rights holders, rejected the proposed team earlier this year.
Speaking in Monaco with Reuters, Ben Sulayem offered this solution: Andretti-Cadillac should buy an existing team.
“I have no doubt FOM and Liberty [Media — F1’s ownership group] would love to see other teams as long as they are OEMs [Original Equipment/Car Manufacturers],” said Ben Sulayem in Monaco. “I would advise them [Andretti-Cadillac] to go and buy another team, not to come as the 11th team.”
According to the FIA President, it comes down to a matter of quality, not quantity.
“I feel that some teams need to be refreshed. What is better? To have 11 teams as a number or 10 and they are strong? I still believe we should have more teams but not any teams. The right teams,” added Ben Sulayem.
“It’s not about the number, it’s about the quality.”
President Ben Sulayem then pointed out how some teams currently on the grid are “struggling,” and that there is a certain appeal to a truly American team on the Formula 1 grid. At the moment Haas is the only American team, but current drivers Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hülkenberg are from Denmark and Germany, respectively.
A major pitch with the Andretti-Cadillac bid is that it will be a true American operation. Beyond the relationship with General Motors, Michael Andretti noted when the partnership was announced in January of 2023 that the goal would be to have American drivers. “[An] American manufacturer behind an American team with an American driver will be the biggest story of the year,” Andretti told media, including SB Nation, on a conference call last year.
“Without mentioning names, there are teams which are struggling…struggling with performance, struggling even with management,” said Ben Sulayem to Reuters. “It’s about having the right team, not to lose a chance or an opportunity where someone like GM [General Motors] with a PU [power unit] is coming to Formula One.
“Imagine the impact. We have three races in America. We have such a huge fan base. But we don’t have a proper [American] team,” added Ben Sulayem. “I’m so happy to have Ford in [with Red Bull from 2026] but imagine having GM and imagine having American drivers.”
FIA President Ben Sulayem was not the only key figure in the sport to offer this solution in Monaco. Speaking ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner also suggested that the “natural solution” for Andretti-Cadillac was to purchase an existing team.
“I think Andretti is a great racing heritage,” said Horner to assembled media in Monaco. “Mario is a legend of the sport and of course, [they are partnered with] Cadillac, the huge automotive manufacturer from the US.
“I think Formula 1 have said in 2028, if they were to come with their own engine, they would obviously review it but I think in addition to that, I think that if Andretti were to want to come, a little like Audi acquired Sauber, I think to protect the current franchises’ stability that we have in the sport, then, obviously, their best route to the goal is to acquire one of the existing teams.”
Despite FOM’s decision to deny Andretti-Cadillac a spot on the F1 grid, the prospective team has forged ahead with their F1 operation. Andretti-Cadillac opened a new facility in Silverstone, near the site of the British Grand Prix, and recently announced the signing of Pat Symonds, a move that sent shockwaves through the sport. Symonds, who has decades of experience in F1 and is coming off seven years as F1’s Chief Technical Officer, will join the team after a brief gardening period.
Whether he joins the prospective 11th team on the grid, or a team that will look to purchase an existing team as recommended by FIA President Ben Sulayem, remains to be seen.
