General Motors, the renowned American car manufacturer, has made its first formal statement since Formula 1 declined its bid on January 31. Jim Campbell, GM’s Vice President of Performance and Motorsport, emphasised that the initiative is moving forward “at pace.”
During an event in Daytona last Friday, Campbell disclosed that the team had sought a meeting with Formula 1 following a technical mishap that resulted in a missed invitation from the commercial rights holder to Andretti in December.
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The FIA greenlit the proposal in October, which was then forwarded to F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali and his team for further evaluation.
The refusal last month raised concerns about the bid’s competitiveness, particularly due to its initial plan to use a Renault customer power unit. However, the possibility of a more favorable assessment exists once Cadillac’s proprietary power unit becomes available in 2028, enabling a factory-supported team entry.
“In terms of our application with Andretti, we feel great about our application,” said Campbell.
“The FIA studied it against other applicants, and then gave our application a vote of confidence and approval.
“So obviously the FOM made their statement, and we have asked for a follow up meeting with FOM, and so we will work through that. We do believe between Andretti and Cadillac that we have got the capability of fielding a competitive entry.
“We are not saying that it is easy, but we do between our two organisations have examples in our history of where we have been successful in other motorsports categories, and that is true of Cadillac and Andretti.
“With that said, our joint teams are continuing to develop our car at pace. So, that is where we are at.”
Campbell played down the implication that GM took offence at a statement casting doubt on the project’s competitiveness.
“As I said, we believe in the application we submitted,” he said. “And in that application we articulated the abilities of both Andretti as a race team, and Cadillac as a manufacturing and engineering entity.
“So, we feel confident in the application and are asking for a meeting with FOM.”
When questioned about the possibility of Cadillac’s power unit being prepared before 2028, Campbell noted that FIA regulations ultimately bound the brand’s timeline.
“When you register to be a power unit, there is a deadline to do that, and for us it was last June for 2028,” he said.
“If you wanted to develop an engine sooner, then you would have had to register the previous year for that. So, it’s simply a regulation.”
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