"Strong majority" of F1 teams against Andretti Global's 2026 entry: Reports

Despite there being concrete talks of expanding the F1 grid to welcome new teams into the fold, reports have emerged that the majority of the teams were against any expansion that will lead to a dilution of revenues.

It was announced on Thursday, January 5, that Andretti Global and General Motors plan to jointly enter Formula One with a new all-American team using the Cadillac brand. They also spoke about employing at least one American driver.

If F1 and its governing body, the FIA, accept their bid, Andretti Cadillac will be based in the United States of America, with a support facility set up in Britain.

While Andretti joining forces with American multinational automotive giant General Motors, through Cadillac, was widely seen as a move that would break all hurdles in their efforts to enter F1, a senior source told Reuters that a "strong majority" of the teams were against grid expansion.

The same figure also reportedly stated that General Motors' involvement was more of a "badging exercise" than a full manufacturer commitment, adding that the $200 million entry fee was too little on current valuation.

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"An American manufacturer behind and an American team with an American driver" - Andretti's plans for F1

Michael Andretti is the mastermind behind Indiana-based Andretti Global's efforts to enter Formula 1. He is a former McLaren F1 driver and 1991 CART champion, and the son of 1978 Formula One world champion and Indianapolis 500 winner Mario Andretti.

After being rebuffed a few times in his attempts to enter a team into F1, he has now joined hands with General Motors in a move he believes 'ticks all the boxes.'

He told reporters in a video conference:

"One of the big things was 'what does Andretti bring to the party?’ Well, we're bringing one of the biggest manufacturers in the world now with General Motors and Cadillac. We feel that that was the one box we didn't have checked that we do have checked now."

Michael also revealed that his team has begun the hiring process and that they have already signed a team principal. He stated:

"We've done a lot of hiring, we have quite a few people working for us, we have hired the main engineers so we are very much down the road. We have our technical director already hired and we will announce that down the road."

He added:

"One of the things is to have an American manufacturer behind and an American team with an American driver. I think it is going to be the biggest story of the year. The great thing is that GM has great people and resources at the ready so that is going to help us get up and running even quicker so we are in a really good position right now."