17/01/2023
NEWS STORY
Though still unconvinced by the worthiness of Andretti's proposed bid to enter F1, Toto Wolff admits that the American outfit made a statement with its Cadillac announcement.
While F1's powers that be - and seemingly a majority of the teams - are unconvinced by Michael Andretti's bid to enter F1, last week's announcement that he had General Motors on board, in the shape of Cadillac, certainly added some serious weight to his proposal.
Nonetheless, F1 remained sceptical, indifferent even, so much so that FIA president, Mohammed ben Sulayem, took to social media to admit his surprise.
Sections of the media appeared to take up the cause of those sceptical of Andretti's bid, dismissing Cadillac's role as merely a rebadging exercise, not to mention doubts over whether the American outfit could raise the necessary funding not only to put a serious team together but to pay the anticipated $600m anti-dilution fee now being demanded.
Previously, Wolff had admitted his doubt as to Andretti's worthiness to be on the grid and whether, without manufacturer support, it had the requisite finances to be sustainable and a benefit to the sport.
"Andretti is a great name," he said last summer, "but this is sport, this is a business and we need to understand what is it that you can provide to the sport.
"If an OEM or a multinational group joins F1 and can demonstrate that they are going to spend X amount of dollars in activating, in marketing; that's obviously a totally different value proposition for all the other teams," he insisted.
Speaking in the wake of the news that Mercedes strategist Andrew Vowles is joining Williams as team principal, Wolff was asked about the Cadillac tie-in with Andretti and whether he now saw the bid to enter the sport in a new light.
"Cadillac and GM, that's a statement," he admitted. "Them joining forces with Andretti is definitely a positive, it gives it another angle that may or may not be beneficial for Formula One.
"It's definitely something, how can I find the right word here... nobody would ever question GM or Cadillac's pedigree in motorsport or as a global auto company."
Vowles, clearly singing from the same hymn sheet, agreed with his former boss.
"The truth behind it is that the sport financially is becoming more and more successful," he said. "Whoever joins in that environment, effectively needs to bring with it the growth that is required in order for everyone else to be in a better position, or at least a neutral position. And that's been the statement from the beginning.
"There are a lot of lovely things about Andretti and about Cadillac," he added. "It just needs to have good understanding of how it will grow the sport and in what way and what the growth will be."