Martin Brundle skeptical about Andretti-Cadillac’s F1 competitiveness
As Andretti plans to enter F1 with the backing of the General Motors Group and its Cadillac brand, the question of the team's competitiveness remains. Former F1 driver Martin Brundle, now a commentator on Sky Sports, is not entirely convinced that the American team will become a top-flight team.
Andretti is the best placed project to join F1 in the coming years. After the tender launched by the FIA, the Andretti-Cadillac project was selected by the body chaired by Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
However, the arrival of an 11th team in F1 would reduce the revenue of the other ten teams already on the grid. That is why Andretti-Cadillac will have to pay the amount of 200 million dollars, corresponding to the anti-dilution fund. But with a majority of teams against the arrival of a new competitor, the Concorde agreements could be renegotiated with the amount of the anti-dilution fund significantly increased.
Despite the presence of the Andretti family in various categories of motor sport such as IndyCar or Formula E, the success of the Andretti-Cadillac project in F1 is not guaranteed. This is the view of the former F1 driver, now a consultant on Sky Sports. « Just because it’s called Andretti doesn’t mean it will be competitive. Andretti is a big name, but on the other side of the coin, they have never really built their own car, they haven’t really dominated IndyCar in recent years or in other categories », says Martin Brundle.
« What do they bring to F1? »
« I can understand why Formula 1 and the other teams say: ‘’Wait a minute.’’ F1 is in a very good position now, you can’t just join this club while we have gone through the years and decades of losing money and investing in all of this », explains the former F1 driver.
« I think we need to look at their A team in the United States: can they set up a credible competition on the grid? And what do they bring to F1? I think we have to lose the emotion of the Andretti name and make a rational decision, but I would like to see more cars on the grid », suggests Martin Brundle.
