The new Cadillac Formula One team that will be headquartered in Fishers could bring with it more opportunities for high-tech companies to take root in the city that has made the business of technology a focus for more than a decade.
Cadillac F1, owned by General Motors and Indianapolis-based TWG Motorsports, anticipates being distinctively American, with the possibility of IndyCar driver Colton Herta in the two-car lineup.
Lowdon has been advising the effort the last two years as Michael Andretti tried to get an Andretti Global entry with General Motors accepted into F1.
Andretti has been sidelined from his namesake motorsports organization and won’t have any role with the Formula 1 program he spent the last four years desperately trying to launch.
With a restructuring at Indianapolis-based Andretti Global that pushed Michael Andretti into a smaller role, the chances of his organization landing a Formula 1 team have substantially increased.
Meridian, Colorado-based Liberty Media, owner of Formula One Group, rejected Indianapolis-based Andretti Global’s application in January after a six-month review.
The Detroit-based adversaries compete weekly in various other series, namely NASCAR, but Ford now wants an opportunity to go head-to-head with its technology against GM in the future.
Mere hours after Formula One’s chief technical officer said he was leaving after seven years in the role, Andretti Cadillac said it had hired him as its executive engineering consultant.
The junk email revelation came Friday as Indianapolis-based Andretti Global sought to clarify two points in the sharply critical document F1 released earlier this week in rejecting the Andretti Cadillac application for entry into the racing series.
F1 is only interested in allowing Indianapolis-based Andretti Global in when General Motors has an engine built for competition. Had Andretti received approval for a new team, it would have had to use another manufacturer’s engine until 2028.
Indianapolis-based Andretti Global and partner Cadillac must still prove their commercial value to F1 rights holder Liberty Media and the existing teams, which vehemently oppose expanding the 20-car grid.
Andretti said in Thursday’s announcement—the culmination of four months of negotiations with General Motors—that the American automaker provides the Andretti effort the additional value rival teams have argued new teams must bring to F1.
The push to bring IndyCar driver Colton Herta to Formula One hit a wall that will likely keep the 22-year-old stateside for another season, raising questions about the sport’s accessibility to drivers who look to join from certain racing leagues.
Formula One has multiple inquiries from potential team owners who have taken a more behind-the-scenes approach than Michael Andretti, who has been “quite vocal” in his desire to expand the current grid, F1’s CEO said Wednesday.
Some drivers believe Formula One’s increasing visibility and popularity threaten American auto racing, stiffening competition for fans and nascent drivers who may gravitate toward a sexier, more global sport.
In the view of Mark Miles, president and CEO of Penske Entertainment Corp., which owns the IndyCar series and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, F1’s American expansion is a boon for all forms of motorsports.
The spotlight is on Colton Herta, a 21-year-old on the eve of a new IndyCar season who many think could be the next great American F1 driver.
IndyCar team owner Michael Andretti said “control issues at the 11th hour” derailed Indianapolis-based Andretti Autosport’s bid to buy the Alfa Romeo team from Sauber, but he has not given up on his attempt to acquire a Formula One team.
Sunday’s U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, drew a sellout crowd of 140,000 that reflected the growth of Formula One racing in a country that executives view as critical to the sport’s development.
Eight of the 33 starters in this year’s Indianapolis 500 had F1 experience. Drivers expect that number to grow in upcoming years.
