Colombian motor racing legend Juan Pablo Montoya believes Andretti will not succeed in his bid to enter Formula 1 as a brand new team.
Andretti Global, led by Michael Andretti, is clamoring to enter Formula 1 in the coming years, having teamed up with Cadillac to add weight to their bids to get the green light.
The American racing team has begun work on a large new motorsport campus to encapsulate all of its racing activities, with enough capacity to support a Formula 1 effort if their attempts are successful.
But Andretti has struggled to win the approval of teams already on the grid, who have no desire to see their potential pots diluted by an 11th team on the grid, even if they got an initial equal share of the match. entry of $200 million Andretti. would have to pay.
Former McLaren and Williams F1 driver, and legend of the American racing scene as a two-time Indy 500 winner, Juan Pablo Montoya is also not convinced that Andretti should try to enter F1 as a new entry – he thinks Andretti should do their best to get comfortable and buy an existing team.
Juan Pablo Montoya ‘doesn’t see any additional team entering F1’
“I would love to see them on the grid, but that’s not going to happen,” Montoya told Motorsport.com’s French affiliate on Andretti-Cadillac’s prospects of entering the sport.
“Unless they can buy someone else. I don’t see any additional team coming. It’s a shame, but it’s hard to convince everyone.
Montoya believes Andretti should try to follow in the footsteps of Audi, with the German brand entering F1 in 2026 through a share buyout from the Sauber group.
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“If they’re so determined to get into F1, they could probably buy a structure like Alpine,” Montoya remarked.
“Personally, if it’s about having an extra seat, I think it’s very unlikely. I think it should be more like what Audi did. If you really want to be in F1 long term, you could buy 30 or 40% of Alpine with a two year option to buy another 40 or 20%, and then you would have control of the team – you have the majority and you do what you want. But the other way around, I don’t see it happening.
Juan Pablo Montoya: Cadillac is not a big name outside the United States
Montoya thinks Andretti’s partnership with Cadillac doesn’t mean enough to markets outside the United States either, saying the name just isn’t important enough for traditional F1 markets.
“You know how teams are. You know the game,” he said.
“Cadillac, yes, it’s a big name, but it’s a big name in America. [In the Netherlands] it’s not the case, in the UK it’s not the case, in France it’s not the case and in Spain it’s not the case.
“I think the ‘Chevy’ name is more important, but I understand why they use Cadillac, because they are premium vehicles. It’s a shame, but I think it’s going to be tough, unless they buy a team.
Asked whether existing teams are capable of exerting too much influence on the possibility of new teams entering the sport, Montoya pointed to examples of defunct entries such as Caterham, HRT and Virgin – all of which have entered the sport in 2010 and were never competitive in the few years since their demise.
“Years ago, [new teams arrived in F1]and it didn’t work,” he said.
“Because they didn’t have enough money. If they [Andretti and Cadillac] have so much money, why not just buy a team? Yes, the Andretti name is very important in America. But today, if you go to Europe, I don’t know: how many people really know Andretti?
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