The Andretti-Cadillac project is an extremely exciting one for Formula 1, as it would bring US car giants General Motors to the sport.
While F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali remains firm in his stance against expanding the current grid, Andretti-Cadillac are pushing to change the Italian’s mind.
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem is also in full support of the project, claiming that the addition of such big names to the sport can only be a positive thing.
With the team rumoured to join the sport when the engine regulations make undergo a major overhaul in 2026, along with Audi, the team will be in need of a engine provider.
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Alpine have now emerged as the standout candidate for this role, with CEO Laurent Rossi claiming that an agreement is already in place with Andretti-Cadillac.
“We agreed that if they get their licence to run in Formula One, then we will provide them with a powertrain,” he told Reuters.
“But it’s up to them to show that they can join the Formula One circus and for that they need to go through the hoops, the process in place where they submit applications and show that they bring value to the F1 circus and teams in general.
“It’s for them to prove it and for the others to assess. If they join, we’ll be happy to join them. If they don’t it means that all in all it didn’t work out.”
With Alpine being a relatively small French car manufacturer, it has been suggested that supplying the engines to another F1 team could be too much strain for the team.
Rossi has however explained that being an engine provider has its benefits and that he feels his team are ready to take this next step.
“It’s nice to have, it’s not a must have,” he said.
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“We could use a second team because you accumulate more data across four cars than you do with two. But it’s a drag on your team as well, so you need to be completely well structured. We couldn’t do that two years ago.”
For the meantime, Alpine will be focused on the 2023 season, where they are aiming to occasionally be able to mix with the likes of Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari.
Having failed to score a podium in 2022, Rossi will hope to see his drivers stood on one of the steps a few times in this upcoming season.