Mario Andretti role revealed as General Motors/Cadillac agree deal to enter F1
Deal for 11th F1 team to join in 2026 is agreed
Mario Andretti will still have a role in General Motors’ entry into Formula 1.
The team may not carry his famous name and his son Michael Andretti will no longer have the senior job he previously held.
But Mario Andretti will be a director on the board of the prospective F1 team.
F1 and the FIA have agreed for Cadillac, backed by General Motors, to become the 11th team on the grid.
The new team should enter in 2026.
“My first love was Formula 1 and now – 70 years later – the F1 paddock is still my happy place,” Mario Andretti said.
“I’m absolutely thrilled with Cadillac, Formula 1, Mark Walter, and Dan Towriss.
“To still be involved at this stage of my life — I have to pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming."
Mario Andretti remains the most recent F1 champion from America.
His son Michael was the driving force behind a bid for the Andretti team to join the F1 grid.
Although they gained approval from the FIA, they did not convince the current 10 F1 teams who questioned what value would be brought.
Michael Andretti waged a battle to win entry to F1 through US Congress which was questioned by some team principals.
Last month he stepped back from leading the Andretti Global team.
"Many of my best memories have come at the wheel of this organisation, and I am so proud of what we have built,” he said at the time.
"But decades of running flat out doesn't come without sacrifice and, after much thought and reflection over the past several months, I came to the decision to take a step back."
His business partner Dan Towriss took over at the helm of Andretti.
It is Towriss who, alongside General Motors, has struck a deal for an additional team to enter F1 in 2026.
But the presence of the legendary Mario Andretti will remain among their directors.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
