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The prospect of an Andretti-less, or at least an Andretti-light, Andretti Global might be a significant step into General Motors and Cadillac entering Formula 1 one way or another.
That was the pledge from GM’s executive director for motorsports competition Eric Warren as recently as September, after all.
“On the F1 side, been working on it two years,” Warren said last month in an IndyCar press conference when asked for an update "on the Formula 1 side", given the Andretti Cadillac joint venture had been rejected by F1’s commercial rights holder back in January.
“It's a process. We're developing heavily a power unit. We're developing heavily the car. We will continue to go through the process. Had some positive meetings this past week.
“We're not giving up on that one. We've made a commitment to enter. One way or another we're going to be there.”
In the context of Michael Andretti confirming this week that he’s stepping down from the direct leadership of Andretti Global, it’s interesting to reconsider that remark.
Warren didn’t mention Andretti by name. So did ‘we’ mean Andretti Cadillac, or just GM and its sub-brand?
Most likely it was the former, but intentionally or not Warren did hint at something that has been discussed in the F1 paddock as long ago as last year: that even if Andretti can’t get into F1, there might be a way for GM to anyway.
Clearly the intention has been for GM to work with Andretti. All the progress so far behind the scenes has been with Andretti work on its new US and UK facilities but, presumably, GM/Cadillac has been feeding in with the resources it has pledged to the initial development work.
And it was Andretti that drove GM’s consideration of an F1 programme, as Michael Andretti responded to F1’s initial pushback by courting a major manufacturer to partner with.
The plan was to bless the use of the Cadillac name alongside Andretti’s, enter as a customer for a couple of years and - eventually - transition to a fully-fledged GM works team with its own engine from 2028.
F1 loved the sound of that last bit, so much that when it rejected Andretti Cadillac in January it deliberately left the door open to trying again for 2028 as it would view a full works entry differently.
So if it continues to get knocked back as an Andretti-affiliated endeavour, and GM’s as committed as Warren says to getting a piece of F1, something needs to change. And maybe an Andretti Global leadership realignment will prove to be the necessary catalyst.
Andretti has decided to pass the baton” to his business partner Dan Towriss (below, left) while Andretti takes on a “more strategic role” and remains “engaged and will continue to serve as a strategic advisor and key ambassador”.
It’s unclear what that means - will he have more time to focus on the F1 project in the background, or will he be less active altogether?
It’ll be a while before we see whether this influences the impasse with Formula One Management or not.
But whether you agreed with Michael Andretti or not, he has not succeeded in getting his team on the F1 grid. So key to what comes next will likely be whether he retains any involvement, whether this impacts the direction Andretti Global and GM take, and how F1 will view all of that.
The management set-up is significant.
Dan Towriss, who is the boss of a group of various companies that support Andretti, is potentially a more appropriate leader than Andretti.
Then there is Mark Walter, the Guggenheim CEO who is an Andretti investor and has money in other sporting initiatives like the LA Dodgers baseball team and Chelsea Football Club.
If Towriss is the better leader and Walter brings financial power, then there is no need for Andretti beyond being able to use the name.
Andretti Global was the route for these brands - and GM - to get into F1. But the Andretti name itself is controversially considered irrelevant to F1 - so how much is that really worth?
Should 'Andretti Cadillac' be persevered with or is Andretti Global the [itals] organisation [itals] better off as a vessel that becomes something else?
A GM works team using the Cadillac name was clearly of interest to F1. It was the Andretti side that seemed to come with doubts.
Last year at least one existing team on the grid had some tentative conversations about whether there might be interest in GM partnering with them should the Andretti entry fail to come off.
That's only really relevant if GM/Cadillac (along with a Towriss-led Andretti Global?) go all-in on buying into an existing team.
But the point is, returning to those GM comments that “one way or another, we’re going to be there”, there might be alternative routes to 'Andretti Cadillac' for the key stakeholders in this project to pursue.
The new Andretti Global era could try again by showing FOM how the change in leadership will allay the main concerns about the project’s potential without being directly attached to the Andrettis as before.
Could that go as far as losing the Andretti name entirely even if key figures or the underlying organisation are the same?
It’s hard to judge Andretti Cadillac's chance of finally convincing F1 to let it onto the grid. But it has always seemed that a GM works team had a better shot.
If moving towards that means leaving the Andretti name behind, is that not now likelier without an Andretti at the head of the project?
