Mario Andretti hints at personal matters against son Michael's failed F1 bid

General Motors through Cadillac will become the 11th F1 entry in 2026 and will be producing their own power unit from 2028.

The announcement ended a saga that started earlier this year when the FIA started a bid process to choose an 11th F1 team.

Michael Andretti, through Andretti Global was given the green light by the FIA only for Formula One Management to block their entry.

However, when Michael Andretti stepped aside from the day-to-day running of his company, handing over the reins to his partner Dan Towriss and soon after, GM/Cadillac was approved as F1's 11th team.

While Michael Andretti was sidelined, his father Mario remained part of the picture and was appointed as a director on the board of the GM/Cadillac F1 team.

Mario Andretti reflected on how the latest American F1 project panned out, especially since his son stepped aside. Speaking to Motorsport.com, he was asked if it felt bittersweet that his son could not be part of the project; he said: "Yeah, but you know what? There's a celebration here with him as well.

"There's no big issues that I see among the group here that would linger or anything else because, I guarantee ultimately it wasn't just [about] Michael. It's not that simple.

"There were a lot of things going on, but it happened. It may have made it look like that was the key factor; but it wasn't.

"One way or another, he might've stepped aside a little bit more about the day-to-day situation with them [anyway], so we’re not losing a beat anywhere by going forward here," the 1978 F1 champion insisted.

Mario Andretti was quizzed about why the company his son managed was rejected while Cadillac was approved; he explained: "I don't know if there's one thing that all of a sudden brought the thing to fruition.

"There seemed to be some personal things there that personally, I still do not understand. But it seemed like it came down to that.

"If that was the case, you could see that Michael decided to step aside - I think he was thinking of that anyway, but then you'd have to ask him that.

"The fact is that it all came together. We can totally analyze the thing until the cows come home, but there were so many things that were not totally clear.

"Again, I wish I could give you a detail that: 'Yes, if you do this, this, and that and the other.' But it just all of a sudden started to come together and there were other things that were going on in the background that might have made a difference.

"But the fact that it's there now, that's all I'd like to think about and talk about quite honestly," Andretti Sr. concluded.