Cadillac without Andretti? F1 rumour suggests different reason behind Michael Andretti departure

In late September, rumors suggested that Michael Andretti would soon be stepping down from the daily organization of Andretti Global, the team he’s run since 2002. But why ?

Marshall Pruett, respected journalist at RACER, shared his own personal thoughts in his latest edition of his ‘Mailbag.’ There, he discussed some of the rumors currently floating around the paddock regarding Cadillac, Andretti, and General Motors’ Formula 1 ambitions.

Cadillac’s Formula 1 ambitions don’t require Andretti

The American motorsport world was taken by surprise when Sportico reported on a rumor that Michael Andretti would be stepping down from actively running Andretti Global, the race team he’s helmed since 2002. In his place, Group 1001 CEO and Andretti investor Dan Towriss would be ascending to a primary leadership role after having bought a stake in the team several years ago.

Towriss, who first got involved with Andretti back in 2018 through sponsorship of driver Zach Veach, has quickly become a key figure in the program. His financial stake has allowed Andretti to excel in IndyCar, and it provided the backbone for the outfit’s attempt to purchase the Sauber F1 team several years ago.

Towriss’ funding also served as the backbone of Andretti Global’s entry into F1 as a team when the FIA opened applications for an 11th racing outfit to join the grid. While the FIA initially approved the team bid, it was denied by Formula One Management (FOM) — and part of that seemed to stem from a personal dislike of Michael Andretti, as Mario Andretti claimed Greg Maffei assured he would never allow Michael to join the sport.

Now, Marshall Pruett is reporting on a slate of rumors that seem to suggest Cadillac has retained its keen interest in F1 — albeit without Michael Andretti at the helm.

“I’ve heard some interesting theories floated from F1 insiders about Cadillac wanting to move forward without the Andrettis — but not without Towriss and his giant funding via the Andretti Global team he controls — with its desired F1 program, and this is the expression of that organizational play,” Pruett wrote in his Oct. 2 edition of The RACER Mailbag .

In response to a later question, Pruett continued, “I’ve heard there’s a desire for something closer to a Cadillac Racing F1 program than an Andretti Global+Cadillac situation, and considering all of the money that can be made by being the entrant/team behind the program, there’s a valid reason to do whatever it takes to get accepted.”

After all, Pruett seemed particularly skeptical of the claim that Andretti has stepped back out of a domestic desire to spend time with his family.

“As for why, the team, and Andretti, and Towriss, are working hard to present this as a happy and welcome development. I don’t buy it,” Pruett wrote.

“To push this hard, and to get this close to restoring the team’s greatness in IndyCar and to getting the nod to make it into F1 as an entrant, and then all of a sudden, this is the time to step away?

“Nobody I’ve spoken to believes this went down in the gosh-and-golly manner it’s being sold.”

Understanding Andretti Global in 2024:

👉 Michael Andretti relinquishes ownership stake in Andretti Global – report

👉 Andretti Global and Group 1001: How a racing sponsorship became team co-ownership

Keen-eyed race fans, though, have likely noticed crumbs and hints of a potential Cadillac F1 entry, sans Michael Andretti.

First, when FOM issued its rejection of Andretti Global’s team entry back in January, it did suggest that Formula 1 would be far more amenable to accepting an entry from Cadillac.

“We would look differently on an application for the entry of a team into the 2028 Championship with a GM power unit, either as a GM works team or as a GM customer team designing all allowable components in-house,” the rejection read.

“In this case there would be additional factors to consider in respect of the value that the Applicant would bring to the Championship, in particular in respect of bringing a prestigious new OEM to the sport as a PU supplier.”

That’s a particularly compelling point: Formula 1 sounded interested in Cadillac. Not Andretti. Its rejection focused on Andretti, not Cadillac. The door is open for General Motors.

Another fascinating nugget dropped a few weeks ago, when Cadillac confirmed that it would be continuing its IMSA endurance racing program with Andretti after the expiry of its contract with Chip Ganassi Racing at the end of the season.

In endurance racing, Andretti has joined forces with Wayne Taylor Racing, a team with longstanding ties to Cadillac.

In the press release announcing Cadillac’s WTR partnership, though, the Andretti name was conspicuously absent; in fact, it was only mentioned in the boilerplate at the very bottom of the release. Further, the team name would be Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac — again, no mention of Andretti.

The absence stuck out to me, so I reached out to Cadillac and WTR to see what was happening. In response, WTR told me, “The Cadillac with Wayne Taylor Racing name is designed to honor the longstanding, championship-winning heritage in endurance racing that exists between Wayne Taylor Racing and General Motors.

“Wayne Taylor Racing is part of the Andretti Global family. We are very excited to be back ‘home’ with Cadillac and looking forward to 2025.”

With Cadillac footing most of the development bill for the WTR GTP development program, it makes sense that the manufacturer would have greater sway in the naming of the team. Still, the lack of ‘Andretti’ seems to stick out like a sore thumb.

As Pruett writes, “The WTR/GM link existed long before Andretti/Towriss bought WTR, so it would be smart to look at that as more of a reunion of former partners than some giant Andretti initiative.

“I think WTR and GM would have gotten back together with or without it being part of Andretti’s portfolio.”

In the wake of Michael Andretti’s stepping back from Andretti Global’s operations, multiple people have noted that Andretti Global has regularly declined to comment on its F1 hopes. But what those hopes are now seem particularly murky.

Read next: Michael Andretti quizzed on F1 role after bombshell Andretti Global restructuring