"My son Michael Andretti deserves credit": Mario Andretti keeps it real about Cadillac F1 journey

IndyCar veteran Mario Andretti was announced as a member of the board of Directors of the Cadillac F1 team, which is set to make its debut in 2026. The IndyCar and F1 champion recently came out and credited his son, Michael Andretti, for the Cadillac F1 journey.

With the Formula One Management opening up the doors for an 11th F1 team, Michael Andretti put in the application to have Andretti Global join the pinnacle of motorsports with the backing of an American manufacturer. However, the same was rejected while Andretti had already made plans for the same.

As a result, Michael Andretti resigned from his role at Andretti Global as the CEO, and the application to join F1 was made under Cadillac's name with backing from Andretti and General Motors. The same was approved by the FIA and Formula One Management, with Cadillac F1 then taken under the same umbrella as Andretti Global, i.e., TWG Motorsports.

Cadillac soon announced Mario Andretti as one of the members on the board of directors. The former F1 champion recently sat down with La Gazzetta dello Sport for an interview and discussed all things F1, including the 2025 championship fight and the Scuderia's form.

F1 75 Live - Arrivals - Source: Getty

While talking, he also touched upon Cadillac, who are set to make its debut next year. Hailing his son regarding the Cadillac journey, Mario Andretti said,

“My son Michael deserves credit, because to be honest, I've never even had much interest in managing teams. Precisely for the reason I mentioned before: I was only interested in driving.”

Cadillac has announced Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas as its drivers for the 2026 season, with Colton Herta being announced as the reserve driver. Herta, who drove for Andretti Global, was linked to a full-time Cadillac seat, but didn't have enough points for a superlicence, hence will be racing in F2 next year to accomplish the same.

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Mario Andretti on signing Charles Leclerc at Cadillac

Charles Leclerc has been rumored to be in talks with Mercedes, Aston Martin, and recently, reports of a direct swap between Oscar Piastri at McLaren also came out. Amid this, Mario Andretti came out and commented on the driver dynamics in F1, while revealing his willingness to sign Leclerc at Cadillac.

“Verstappen is very strong. I like Piastri for his grit, but it seems to me that at McLaren, for some reason—I don't know why—they favor Lando Norris. I'm a big fan of Leclerc; if he really wanted to change teams one day, I'd take him to Cadillac straight away. Ferrari is Ferrari, and sooner or later it will come back. Always,” said Mario Andretti

Charles Leclerc's Ferrari contract runs until the end of the 2029 season, but the Scuderia's performance have reported pushed the Monegasque to consider his options.