Report: FIA to Reject Every F1 Team Application Except Cadillac
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) is expected to reject three applications for new Formula 1 teams with the Cadillac-backed Andretti Global being the only exception.
While Formula 2’s Hitech GP and Rodin Carlin put in bids to graduate to the top-level competition, with the Asian LKYSUNZ also throwing its hat into the ring, reporting from Autosport has suggested that it’ll be Andretti Global getting permission to form the racing series’ 11th team.
From Autosport:
Formula 1 retains the final say on the admittance of a new entry to the grid, with CEO Stefano Domenicali repeatedly stressing that an additional team is not needed unless it brings additional value, while incumbent teams have been cold on the prospect of Andretti expanding its IndyCar and Formula E outfit into grand prix racing.
They believe the current [$200 million] dilution fee that any new team would have to pay to join the grid is insufficient compensation, with opposition to Andretti's entry reaffirmed by several team bosses in Singapore.
An announcement from LKYSUNZ on Friday claimed that it was prepared to pay a dilution fee of $600 million, thanks to backing from a new billionaire investor from Florida. This was met with surprise by employees of existing F1 teams amid speculation that LKYSUNZ staff have been informed it has been turned down by the FIA, prompting them to apply for jobs elsewhere.
Information uncovered by Motorsport-Total.com suggests that LKYSUNZ, Hitech and Rodin Carlin have all been informed that their submitted information was not sufficient for a positive evaluation, although the FIA would not officially confirm this when asked on Friday.
With Formula 1 having wanted to bolster viewership in the United States for years, this almost feels like a foregone conclusion.
In one corner, you have two British teams most Americans have never heard of and one shadowy Pan-Asian entrant nobody seems to know anything about. In the other corner, you have the Andretti family’s multigenerational racing heritage and General Motors — the country's largest automaker by volume.
Gee, I wonder who has the advantage there. Is it America’s favorite multi-generational racing family backed by Cadillac, the Formula 2 outfits nobody outside of Europe would be able to identify, or the mysterious Asian firm that seems to have coalesced from nothing?
While catering to the Asian market is probably something F1 has been thinking about due to the sheer number of potential Asian viewers, LKYSUNZ probably isn’t the vehicle for that and they seem to pre preoccupied with the United States at the moment.
LKYSUNZ was said to have submitted new documents in the hope that the FIA would revise its assessment. But the deadline has passed and the decision should be final at this point.
"We are still in dialogue with the FIA. But I can't go into details at the moment because we are bound by an NDA which we respect,” explained LKYSUNZ CEO Benjamin Durand.
[Image: FIA]
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A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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Cadillac and racing. Boy those 2 go together dont they? What a joke. Up there with opening a coffee shop in NYC. EvilGM be clowning. Again.
Never mind that that F-1 is a bigger circus than EBFlex and Tassos shopping together for their new BDSM outfits and personal lubricants. Also, the F1 rumor mill churns more than EBFlex's mind choosing a new Sharpie to make his next "Free Candy" sign for his white Ram work van.
GM will spend a year or two learning how things work in F1. By the third or fourth year GM will have a competitive "F-1 LS" engine. After they win a race or two Ferrari will protest to highest F-1 authorities.
Something not mentioned: Will GM get tens of millions of dollars from F-1? Ferrari gets 30 million a year as a participation trophy.