Home F1 F1 team bosses say they can’t decide if GM’s PU step adds...

F1, General Motors — SAO PAULO, BRAZIL - NOVEMBER 04: Daniel Ricciardo of Australia driving the (3) Scuderia AlphaTauri AT04 and Pierre Gasly of France driving the (10) Alpine F1 A523 Renault lead a line of cars on track at the start during the Sprint ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Brazil at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 04, 2023 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202311040334 // Usage for editorial use only //

F1 team bosses say they can’t decide if GM’s PU step adds value

12/12/2023

F1 team bosses say they can’t decide if General Motors’ power unit step adds value to Andretti Cadillac’s bid to be on the grid.

While the FIA has given its go to Andretti Cadillac to be the 11th F1 team from 2026 onward, it is in the hands of Formula One Management now to discuss the commercial figures and confirm if they make it on the grid or not.

Amid those discussions, General Motors added a new flavour in the game. The American giants announced a power unit step in their game from 2028 onward to join the ever increasing club of manufacturers developing F1 power units.

Already 2026 will see host of them and General Motors only adds to the list which makes the Andretti Cadillac proposal a tad bit interesting. The decision for FOM will be big considering how the current 10 F1 teams are still not in-sync with it.

They are still resisting to have another team and when asked if this step from General Motors adds a bigger value, some of the F1 team bosses says they can’t decide that. It is certainly a big step, but the bosses are being diplomatic about the situation.

Here’s what some F1 bosses said –

Bruno Famin (Alpine): “I think any new entrant must bring added value. We should avoid diluting the value of the championship. After Formula 1, as a promoter, is assessing potential new entries and I think they are at the best place because we have all the figures, all the data, all the information we don’t have as a team to evaluate if X, Y, Z new potential entrant satisfy the criteria of bringing value. In the case of General Motors, I don’t have at all the data. I’m very cautious with any general rules. I think every case is a particular case, and I trust Formula 1 to assess that very well.”

Franz Tost (AlphaTauri): “There’s not so much to add. We as a team don’t have a direct influence whether an eleventh team is coming or not. It’s a decision at the end from the FOM and from the FIA. They have to evaluate everything and then we will see. To talk about an eleventh team is one story. Contracts which are being signed that you really see that something is behind this is another story but once more, this is something FIA and FOM has to evaluate.”

Guenther Ssteiner (Haas): “I think a company like General Motors coming to F1 is a good idea but as my colleagues said here, is like to evaluate how much additional value it brings, we don’t know or I don’t know because we don’t share the information and it’s something which needs to be evaluated by FOM and they will get clear figures. But I think Formula 1 at the moment has got 10 strong teams and to devalue them – why would you do that? So if it brings value, and I don’t know, and as Franz said, we don’t have a vote in this process. We are a spectator.”

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