Cadillac is seeking to do a deal with Ferrari to use its power units when it arrives in Formula 1 in 2026.
The team is also considering hiring American IndyCar star Colton Herta as one of its drivers.Formula One Management announced yesterday it has reached an agreement in principle with the FIA and the team for it to join the F1 grid after next season.
F1 will introduce new chassis and power unit regulations in 2026. Ferrari currently supplies its own team plus two others, but its relationship with Sauber will end after 2025, when Audi takes over the team.
While Cadillac hopes to take over their power unit supply for the short term it intends to have its own power unit ready for the 2028 season. “That’s the target, and it’s [going to] happen,” said Mario Andretti, the 1978 world champion who is serving as a consultant to the operation.
An initial deal to use Ferrari power units is “what we’re talking about,” Andretti told NBC. “That’s not definite yet, but that’s the objective. And that’s the preference.”
Herta, who finished second in the IndyCar series for Andretti this year, is a candidate to drive for the team in 2026. “He’s definitely one that’s considered,” said Andretti. “I think you have to keep those options open, since it’s going to be a whole next season where we’re not going to be players.”
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Cadillac took over the application to join F1 which Andretti made last year. Although the FIA approved their bid, FOM blocked it in January. Andretti, who previously said members of F1’s commercial rights holder Liberty Media opposed allowing his son Michael’s team into the series, said it was “hard to put your finger on” why they had dropped their opposition.
“I could go back and bring up events and so forth, but some of it was not very pleasant and I don’t really want to talk about any of that. All of that is behind us.
“We just look forward now. It’s happened, and it’s happened properly. Everyone is happy, including my son, Michael. That’s the most important part. No one is diminished or suffered.”
Andretti said his role within Cadillac’s F1 operation will be similar to that held by his former rival Niki Lauda at Mercedes until his death in 2019. “Obviously, they tried to tap off of my experience and what I see — selection of driver talents and even technical talents.
“The sport is my family. I continuously have been involved in a lot of that, and it continues. And that’s it. I don’t want a specific job per se, where I have to punch in every day. I don’t need and want that. But I welcome the opportunity to definitely be part of a lot of key decisions. This is my rodeo.”
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Jere (@jerejj)
26th November 2024, 13:09
Herta certainly is an option super license-wise, unlike before, but I wouldn’t rule out, for example, Bottas either.
Euro Brun (@eurobrun)
26th November 2024, 13:25
I’d more likely anticipate Ricciardo, given he’s popular in the States
Anthony H. Tellier
26th November 2024, 13:49
Why would “popularity” have ANYTHING to do with racing driver choices? Taylor Swift it REALLY popular … s/
ferrox glideh (@ferrox-glideh)
26th November 2024, 14:26
Any American driver would be a “popular” choice, and that means sponsorship interest. Money seems to trump talent these days. Look at Perez, for example. His popularity in Mexico is worth all of Carlos Slim’s money, but he is a weak driver. I could go on.
Adrian Hancox (@ahxshades)
26th November 2024, 15:46
Euro Brun is of course talking on a racing website about a popular racing driver, maybe you thought you were on your Taylor Swift fansite?
No judgement of course.
Dex
26th November 2024, 16:05
He was talking about popularity as measure of someone’s worth, and gave a valid example; while never stating that he was her fan. In any case, I don’t see you debating his argument, only belittling him.
Vishal Trivedi (@nomadindian)
26th November 2024, 16:58
While popularity is not and should not be EVERYTHING, does not mean it has NOTHING to do with racing driver choices.
What does it have to do?
– increase fan engagement
– attract more/better sponsor
– all the benefits that go with the above, specially for a new team
Does not mean that Ricciardo is the right or best choice, but certainly not a ludicrous choice that you have implied it to be.
anon
27th November 2024, 13:15
As noted by others, a popular driver can also have noticeable commercial value that can help attract sponsorship and attention to a newly formed team. To a lesser extent, it can also help teams recruit particular staff that might be keener on working with a particular driver.
The idea of hiring a driver for their popularity goes back decades, after all – in the 1950s and 1960s, it was pretty common for teams to bring a spare car to some races to sell off the seat to a local popular driver in return for a bit of extra cash.
The Dolphins
27th November 2024, 14:39
@Anthony H. Tellier some could argue, “why would money have anything with racing driver choice?” — but alas we have the Stroll family. Given Cadillac is unlikely to attract a WDC as one of its drivers it’s important to look at the whole picture and not rule out the impact of driver popularity and the potential it has to bring revenue in terms of sponsorship and merchandise sales. A new entry also requires a driver with F1 experience and someone like Daniel who now has driven every flavour of PU on the grid can contribute valuable development feedback.
Jere (@jerejj)
26th November 2024, 15:55
@eurobrun His time is over.
Doh
26th November 2024, 14:54
I like herta but palou seems like the better drivers for F1. He’s a bit like max in F1, he’s very consistent and doesn’t make much in mistakes. He’s pretty considered and good with tyres, plus he’s aggressive when he needs to be. Also not overly aggressive like max at times ;) but indycar tracks don’t usually allow for that that anyway.
He’s not the best on ovals and maybe you could say that might not translate well to F1 with all the high speed stuff but ovals seem to specific to use that as an argument against him. Of course he has nothing to do with andretti but that’s never been a decider
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
26th November 2024, 13:46
I don’t get the Colton Herta’s hype…
someone or something
26th November 2024, 14:09
Well:
1. He’s American
2. …
…
Gitanes (@gp4-gitanes)
26th November 2024, 15:36
2. He is an Andretti driver
3. He is 2nd in the 2024 championship behind Palou
Dex
26th November 2024, 16:07
3. He was faster than Norris in a junior category or something. That doesn’t mean much, but nothing really does. We never know, until we see a driver actually racing in F1. There are no real points of reference other than that.
Bob2 (@bob2)
26th November 2024, 22:30
Agree, Herta would be a disaster. He can be quick but has thrown so many opportunities away through his own errors. The indycar model (heaps of yellows, heaps of tyres) helps him pick up points. He would flounder in a 75 minute green race.
There are plenty of decent recent / current F2 prospects that would be better. The first 2 years are fillers anyway. Spend that time building up an American driver for the proper Cadillac entry in ’28.
Maybe Crawford who is already tied to Andretti FE and I guess Alonso will want to keep holding a seat until he’s 55 so that brings a name to the team.
Mark (@blueruck)
26th November 2024, 14:25
I 100% agree, he is generally an upper mid pack driver in Indy. Not a driver that stands out.
Adam (@rocketpanda)
26th November 2024, 14:12
I’d assume Herta & Bottas.
Doh
26th November 2024, 14:56
Palou and Mick Schumacher would be better
Jere (@jerejj)
26th November 2024, 15:57
@rocketpanda A Herta-O’Ward lineup is also viable, even if that meant two rookies simultaneously in a season with new technical regulations, although as a new team, they’ve nothing to lose.
Doh Mick clearly hasn’t been in anyone’s radar anymore & Palou has never truly had a chance.
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
27th November 2024, 8:53
Mick was awful when he was in F1. The most crash prone driver of the past 5 years I would say, and the most expensive in terms of damage cost. Over his time he put in a maximum of around 5 better looking performances, but that goes comparing him against Magnussen and Mazepin.
It’s very clear that Scumacher has been kicked out of Mercedes as reserve driver, and I expect they have gone for Bottas simply because they believe he is a better option. I’m certain any other teams would chose Bottas over him.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
27th November 2024, 23:02
I don’t like excessive criticism on mick schumacher, given he had one of the worst drivers of the last 20 years as a team mate and a horrible car on year 1 (unrepresentative) and apart from that in only 1 season was improving relative to magnussen, while the car was getting worse.
Having said that, it’s a gamble, he’s probably a driver who will eventually reach bottas level, if given the time, while with bottas you already know what you get.
Jim from US (@jimfromus)
26th November 2024, 17:48
Bottas just doesn’t seem American enough. Ricciardo gets into the American shtick with the cowboy stuff. And I wouldn’t count Gosjean out either as he has been in Indy for a few years. Gotta have a license. Also, I don’t prefer it but does Sargent get another shot?
Jere (@jerejj)
27th November 2024, 7:00
Ricciardo’s time is realistically over, given how many chances he’s blown, which certainly hasn’t gone unnoticed by them either.
Grosjean has been away for too long to stand a realistic chance anymore as drivers generally don’t return to full-timers after more than a single season away, with only a few exceptions in the long term.
Sargeant most certainly will never race again in F1, given how subpar he was this season.
Roger Ayles (@roger-ayles)
26th November 2024, 15:53
Is this acceptance not Liberty now just admitting what Mario Andretti said in terms of them just not wanting the Andretti name as well as Andretti running it.
I mean one of the things Liberty spoke about in refusing Andretti’s entry was there need to use a customer engine….. Well now they seem fine with an 11th team using a customer engine now.
The era of privateer and independent teams been accepted in F1 is clearly over. They only want manufacturer’s now and that imo is to the detriment of the sport because it’s the independent/privateer teams run by racing people who have a lifelong love/passion for the sport which F1 needs more of.
As I said the other day I think F1 has lost it’s heart & soul. There’s no passion in it anymore and it just feels very sterile and corporate and for fans like me who grew up through the era where the sport was full of heart, soul and passion maybe that is part of why I find myself no longer as engaged as as in love with it as I used to be.
Le Jimster (@lejimster82)
26th November 2024, 16:41
No doubt they want big corporate names, it brings in more money and having one of the largest American car manufacturers is big for the audience in the States.
I don’t think any private team will be getting in the sport without some similar kind of deal or they buy out an existing outfit. It’s just how it is. Too much money in the sport.
T
26th November 2024, 16:57
if Mario is to be believed, yes
but no one else could corroborate that story and Mario has also told at least one white lie
a customer engine deal that had expired a year prior to their denial and now was entirely contingent on blessing from FOM. this precedes the eventual shuttering of said supplier’s engine department
they seem fine with an 11th team using a customer engine now because a deal in principle with Ferrari actually exists so FOM/FIA don’t have to force an existing team to supply Andretti with FIA sealed bare minimums.
they seem fine with an 11th team using a customer engine now because per BBC, GM entered discussions as partner AND team owner while still committing to 2028 PU and are now front and center both in naming and discussions
they seem fine with an 11th team using a customer engine now because per BBC, the anti dilution will more than double because the entry is now 2026 – it was 2025 as much the Andretti camp would love be revisionist about it, even before the denial, Andretti insisted the team would have been ready to race by 2025.
this is a subjective take that I cannot speak on but please do take solace in the fact that this is the most competitive F1 has been in a very very long time. AND we don’t have an engine and chassis reset next year like 2021 -> 2022
four teams and six drivers – not you checo, sit down, Kimi not yet – could be fighting for a championship next year
also F1/FOM is no more or less greedy and soulless than it was, there’s just more cameras and transparency
the things bernie got away with is…insane and I’m not taking about the famous um, dictator quote
hope this helps!
Mog
26th November 2024, 19:57
Like it or lump it, when a team entry is worth a billion dollars we are no longer in the realm of passionate independent owners who do it just for the love of it.
Roger Ayles (@roger-ayles)
26th November 2024, 17:27
I honestly never really cared about how competitive or not the sport was because that wasn’t what drew me to it.
races, seasons or periods where one team or driver dominated never bothered me and was never a turn off for me. if anything i saw that as been what the sport was about, one team finding an advantage and winning with it with the others having to find ways to do a better job to improve and catch up.
The engineering, development and technical innovation side of the sport was always one of the aspects i got a lot of enjoyment out of and why i always loved F1 more than any other other categories and why I never really enjoyed any of the spec car classes.
The fact F1 is so restrictive now with teams been closer together more because of that and because of the coat caps, engine development freezes and made for show tires is actually one of the elements that been driving me away a bit the past few years and why i would say i’m less of a fan now than i was 10-15 years ago.
It just feels to me over the past decade or so that everything that drew me to the sport, hooked me on the sport & kept me hooked to the sport for 40+ years now are been stripped back or taken away because the sterile corporate show is now more important the sport.
T
26th November 2024, 17:43
that’s fair, I personally think it’s still exciting because we’ve moved from an effectively no holds barred approach to a necessity is the mother of invention approach (see: DAS, flexi-wings, bib ride heights, side pods, push rod vs pull rod, and what not)
I mean it’s not flawless and shareholder value is taking an ever increasing role but I had a good time this season and I think i’ll have a great time next season because of the aforementioned reasons above
Yes (@come-on-kubica)
27th November 2024, 0:14
I think my main problem is the racing is awful a lot of the time on dreadful tracks.
dot_com (@dot_com)
27th November 2024, 3:53
Cadillac Ferrari has such an odd ring to it.
The Dolphins
27th November 2024, 18:21
Cadillac Andretti Ferrari is better as it separates the two brands and eventually the Ferrari would be dropped.
Regardless, I’d take Cadillac Ferrari over Visa Cash App RB F1 Team
SteveP
27th November 2024, 21:01
Rumour is they might rename that last one as “Cards R’ As Plc” or the short version…
Placid (@placid)
29th November 2024, 0:27
Herta chances to enter Formula 1 would be a minimum 4th place finish where he can earn 10 points if he finishes 4th in Indy Car. I would rather see Colton exit Indy Car as an Indy Car Champion. Sargeant would need a lot of guidance and enter the simulator just to correct all his errors. 2 drivers are currently locked for 2025 thru their team development programs. There is Jak Crawford with Aston Martin and 2024 Macau World Cup winner Ugo Ugochukwu who is with McLaren.
Red Bull has James Egozi who raced in the Spanish Formula 4 series finishing 6th in the series. I do not know about his status for the team.
If Cadillac F1 needs to start up their development programs for American drivers, I would get Juan Manuel Correa who got dropped by DAMS along with Sargeant. It is a lot to spend, but will GM need to set a budget for a development program. For driver, they may have to look at the Regional America series and have to swipe a few from the RTI program. Sebastian Wheldon just tested Italian Formula 4 machinery this month and he will compete in the F4UAE Trophy winter series in the final event.