The RACER Mailbag, December 4

Welcome to the RACER Mailbag. Questions for any of RACER’s writers can be sent to mailbag@racer.com. We love hearing your comments and opinions, but letters that include a question are more likely to be published. Questions received after 3pm ET each Monday will be saved for the following week.

Q: Being non-American, I just don't get how can NASCAR be more popular than IndyCar. Obviously the Split wrecked it, however the reunification happened almost two decades ago. Also, in the first years of the Split, CART was still great with international races, lots of manufacturers and well-known drivers.

And another less rhetorical question – any news on the Honda front?

Nicholas, Greece

MARSHALL PRUETT: Regarding Honda, nobody will talk on the record (I’ve asked), but I’m hearing positive conversations on staying have been happening.

The Split was a crucial event that helped propel NASCAR ahead of IndyCar, but that leap was already in progress as Cup began reaching a wider base of fans -- escaping its mostly southern roots -- while CART and the IRL stepped on their respective appendages.

I’ve told this story many times: Sonoma Raceway, 1990, and the second NASCAR Cup race there. I don’t know if it was organized by the track or the series, but on the opening day, Friday afternoon, there was an autograph signing arranged with The King, Richard Petty, and the newest Daytona 500 winner Derrike Cope. It was positioned in front of Huffaker Racing’s shop near the entry to the paddock, with Petty and Cope sitting at a little square card table. There was nobody in sight as I walked down the road from our shop -- positioned about 200 feet away -- and nobody in line to get their autographs. I walked past them and they were chatting among themselves in this awkward event.

But the NASCAR weekend quickly took off and became the biggest event of the year, beating former monster weekends put on with IMSA and Trans Am by a mile. If you weren’t a NASCAR fan, avoiding Sonoma Raceway and all of the arteries to reach the track for a good 5-10 miles in any direction became the norm when Cup was in town. That was happening in California road racing territory while CART was a raging success, and doing similar backed-up-traffic-forever at Laguna Seca.

Seeing NASCAR go from an oddity with minimal interest to the biggest race in NorCal by the early 1990s was the sign of change that registered with me the most. The cars are super-relatable to what the average person drives or understands, which is always the hurdle for IndyCar to overcome.

Q: One of the interesting things I’ve noticed lately is the evolution of the language around racing, so I have been collecting a glossary of sometimes overused new motorsports terms for my own amusement:

This all leads me to my question: Why do F1 teams have people sit on the wall outside of the pit box? Certainly, the mountain of coms equipment make it sub-optimal for the people to actually see the papaya livery of the cars as they pass by on the straight and observe if the driver opens up his or her hands as they enter Copse and Maggotts.

DA, Chicago

MP: Opening up your hands is another way of saying the driver is unwinding the steering wheel, which I realize is another odd expression.

The "pratt perch" (stand of idiots) positioned on the other side of pit lane, separated from the crew and garage, is very much an international thing. I’d guess it remains today out of tradition since, as we see, there are teams who prefer to have their engineers and strategists situated in the garage. Since sitting out on an island does nothing to help those on the island -- they all stare at TV/timing/data monitors, just like those in the garage -- I can’t work out why the practice continues.

Mailbag hero Jarno Trulli got a close-up look at the Copse gravel trap after he collided with David Coulthard at the start of the 2001 British Grand Prix. BOOOOOOO. Spinney/Motorsport Images

Q: You have Mario Andretti who is a class act, then you have Michael who the exact opposite of his father. Why such a difference? Is he the primary reason his son Marco really didn't do much in his racing career?

David Tucker

MP: Not sure how we’ve arrived at Michael having no class. In all of my interactions with him, "having no class" never entered my mind. But maybe you’ve had encounters that left a different impression. I’m struggling to think of many third-generation IndyCar racers who’ve had careers that were anything close to their father's or grandfather’s accomplishments. Unsers, Foyt, and Andrettis come to mind.

Q: I read an interview with Valtteri Bottas where he said he turned down a full-time ride with an IndyCar team for 2025. I’m trying to think of what team made this offer? Maybe PREMA, or possibly Ed Carpenter? Certainly not Dale Coyne. Do you have any insight as to which IndyCar team made this offer?

Steve, Chicago

MP: Without asking Dale, this sounds like Dale. He’s had an interest in good on-the-way-out-of-F1 drivers for many years.

Q: Why did Dan Towriss have to completely nuke Michael Andretti? Could he not have separated or divested him out of everything that was not IndyCar and let him keep that team he built and done Cadillac F1 separately?

Mark, Cincinnati

MP: I’m more troubled by an investment firm taking control of one of IndyCar’s Big 3 teams. This isn’t something we’ve seen over here; investment firms taking stakes in F1 teams is one thing, but the outright control of a big team like Andretti’s, now owned and controlled by non-racers, doesn’t warm my heart.

Specific to Michael, I’ve got mixed feelings. I’ve seen his interest in being a team owner waver significantly after retiring from driving, with the early years marked by an outward indifference. And then seen his attitude change and his heavy involvement in time and effort shine through. I hate that he’s no longer involved, but his dad says he’s happy, and this could be a meaningful change.

Q: What is the reason that Helio Castroneves is not one of the MSR drivers for IMSA’s sprint or endurance races? I find this odd as he was complaining he could not get a drive for the 2024 Daytona Rolex 24. Helio now has a minority ownership in Meyer Shank Racing -- is that just the IndyCar side, or all of MSR?

Victor Martino

MP: There are no sides to MSR. It’s one team and business. Helio’s fastest days are behind him in the context of endurance races. The days of sports car teams routinely relying on aging and retired open-wheel drivers to be marquee prototype or GT drivers, which was the deal for many decades, has passed. Enduros have become flat-out sprint races, which is why pro teams tend to hire younger drivers, which was never the norm, or the select veterans over 40 who haven’t lost a step. The MSR/Acura team has Alex Palou and Scott Dixon as its enduro drivers, and Felix Rosenqvist for Daytona, which is a dream scenario for any manufacturer.

Helio's no longer a first-call option for the IMSA endurance races, but he closed that chapter of his career on a high as part of Shank's Petit Le Mans-winning line-up in 2023. Michael Levitt/Motorsport Images

Q: What is your opinion about the involvement Michael Andretti will have with the just-announced Cadillac F1 team? Greg Maffei (outgoing Liberty Media CEO) is out and it seemed he was the main obstacle.

As far as I know, Cadillac doesn’t run race teams, they build engines. I read last week that Andretti Global, TWG or whatever it is called now is hiring employees in Silverstone. The infrastructure and employees were Andretti. All of the buildings in Indianapolis and Silverstone have the Andretti Global logo on them. Is it just as simple as changing the logo on all these buildings to TWG? All the work, time and effort, millions of dollars Michael put into this dream, and now it’s happening and his name will be on nothing? Will he even be allowed to be in the pits at a F1 race?

This all just leaves a bad taste in a lot of Andretti fans’ mouths.

Mel, Arizona

MP: So, nothing whatsoever has changed here, except for the loss of Michael Andretti and the burying of the Andretti name in the entry for Cadillac F1.

The Andretti Global group that has hired 200-plus F1 employees, been designing a car, etc., all with a hope of reaching F1, has never wavered.

Michael was never the one spending heavily to get the team to F1; that was primarily done through investors, who’ve taken over the team. Everything you knew as Andretti Cadillac F1 that has been in motion remains in motion, minus the Andretti name being mentioned. He’s been listed as an advisor, so I imagine he’ll be invited to appear in public with them at some point.

What started as the dream of Michael and Mario to get into F1 has been flipped upside down to become GM’s rush to become a full entrant. I’ll admit that I don’t fully understand it, not when GM’s finances are always under such scrutiny. I can only assume most of the costs are being underwritten by TWG Global. I also wonder: If Michigan rival Ford was not joining F1 with Red Bull, would GM stay in?

Q: OK, so Michael Andretti no longer owns any of Andretti Global? So the Andretti family is only involved via name?

I imagine with the F1 entry being a Cadillac-branded program, will Andretti's other programs be changed in terms of their name to reflect the ownership? Or will the Andretti Global name be used still for non-F1 activities? Pardon my confusion but this is a wild ride for this team.

Derrick

MP: The financial breakdown of who owns what has never been provided, but yes, there’s an assumption that Michael was bought out of the business. When I asked Andretti COO Rob Edwards about a name change in a recent interview, he said no, nothing is changing with its non-F1 teams.

Q: Has Green Savoree signed another multi-year contract to promote Portland? Since returning in 2018 there have been two- or three-year contracts (2020 was canceled). I haven't seen anything to suggest they're in for another three years. Is it year by year until Portland falls off the schedule again? I wish they could do something like Iowa and bring in a concert to attract more people to the race weekend.

Marc, PDX

MP: I sent your question to GSRP for response… and they didn’t respond.

Q: Have you heard anything from Green Savoree about plans for 2026 when it comes to the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy? The reason I am asking is because World Cup games will be held at BMO Field from June 12-July 2, 2026. While the IndyCar traditionally doesn’t takes place in mid-July, they would still need more time to set up the track. I love that Arlington is being introduced in 2026 ,but I hope it’s not at the expense of Toronto.

David Colquitt

MP: I sent your question to GSRP for response… and they didn’t respond.

Q: I just read that in the future there may be 25 cars on the IndyCar grid rather than 27. What's this obsession with fewer cars? I don't want to hear this crap about wanting quality entries. There is nothing that is not better with more cars, in every aspect possible. Why not let more cars race? I would love a real answer on this.

Also, you seem to have a beef with the Indy GP, and that is weird. Yeah, less races would be awesome... said no one ever. I go to that race. It has absolutely gotten busier every year. Don't cherry-pick photos of the grandstands -- we all know that most people sit on the spectator mounds. It gets harder every year to get good seats on the mounds. To whoever from Penske reads the Mailbag, my whole family loves going to that race. It's a great event. Doug Boles came out of the Pagoda after the race and he gave my daughter a pin right out of his suit pocket and made her a fan. She always talks about it still. Don't listen to the haters. We want more races!

AJ, Indiana

MP: The weird thing about rejecting facts is there’s no "real answer" to provide other than the one you already listed. The series has expressed interest in trimming to 25 to its team owners, with quality over quantity being the driver here. The only way to resolve this is for all teams to be of the same high quality, which is impossible and does not exist in any racing series.

Also, in another case of correcting meandering reality, I have no "beef"

with the Indy GP. But I do love that I’m now a "hater" because my opinion of the event differs from yours.

Q: Last year, ticket renewals for Iowa went out Sept 23. As of today, nothing for the 2025 race? I know it's on the schedule and I know Hy-Vee, while reducing its IndyCar spend, is still sponsoring the weekend, but is there something afoot? Changes to the big-name entertainment format? Less Hy-Vee involvement...

Chris Cortez

MP: An answer for you from the event organizers: “Over the last few years, ticket renewals for existing customers, followed by public ticket sales for Hy-Vee IndyCar Race Weekend, have begun at different times on the calendar. With the event transitioning to a new ticketing system for next year, ticket sales are expected to begin early in 2025.

"We are excited that the 2025 Hy-Vee IndyCar Race Weekend, scheduled for July 11-13 at Iowa Speedway, will once again feature an NTT IndyCar Series doubleheader weekend with races on both Saturday and Sunday, along with Indy NXT by Firestone competing on Saturday. The concert lineup for next summer's event weekend is still being finalized and we look forward to working with our partners at Hy-Vee to announce the 2025 entertainment lineup in the weeks ahead.”

They also encourage fans to reach out directly via this email address with such questions.

Q: I made "The Final Word" last week. Started reading it and thought is sounded familiar and it was me, and made me have a big grin and maybe a little tear thinking about Robin. Well, Frankie Muniz came back and is running trucks, and Patrick Dempsey just announced he is back. So, who do you know from acting who is waiting in the background just itching to become a racer? Who is racing that we just don't hear about?

Tom, Waco

MP: We just had avid motorcyclist Keanu Reeves participate in his first race at Indy in the Toyota GR Cup. He wasn’t good, but that’s OK. Most of us aren’t. That’s the only one who comes to mind as new-new. Michael Fassbender was racing in the Porsche Carrera Cup through 2023; I was walking out of the paddock at Le Mans that year and saw someone flash by me who looked familiar, and then I realized I’d forgotten Magneto was competing.

As someone who is not 100% sure who Magneto is, I'd probably have walked past this guy and thought, "Huh, he looks a bit like Eddie Irvine." Motorsport Images

Q: Just wondering if you have heard anything about Dan Gurney's biography? I know that Dan's widow was working on pictures for it. Do you have any idea when it will be published?

Lenny, Fairview Park, OH

MP: I was emailing with Evi Gurney over Thanksgiving and forgot to ask, but Justin Gurney, who runs AAR, tells me the goal is to have it finished ahead of the next Eagle celebration at Road America in the summer of 2026.

Q: Have you asked or heard from any of the drivers that that they have had to alter their driving style or preferred car setup due to the hybrid?

Shawn, MD

MP: Indeed. Every driver has made adjustments since the energy recovery system behaves like a brake-assist device, which requires a different approach to braking, then trail braking (on roads and streets), and accelerating once harvesting is complete and the ERS power is deployed.

With zero electronics involved on the braking side like the IMSA GTP cars have, it’s all up to the driver to modulate the brakes and move brake bias forward or backward by hand to compensate for the braking effects brought on with rear harvesting.

And while chassis setups haven’t massively changed, there are changes to accommodate the high ERS weight at the back of the car, so yes, across the board, changes in every aspect of tuning and driving the hybrid IndyCars has happened.

Q: In the Nov. 27 Mailbag, it really was hard to believe that someone was complaining about the promo on FOX about Michael Strahan driving the pace car for the 2025 Indianapolis 500 and believing it was all about Mr. Penske and his team. I was just delighted to see FOX promoting not just the Indianapolis 500, but IndyCar itself, so I don’t care who’s car they had on the show. Looking forward to my 45th and the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 in May.

Brian, West Lafayette, IN

MP: You find it hard to believe that someone in IndyCar was complaining about something in IndyCar?

Q: I’m hoping you can solve a couple of mysteries for me. First, I believe it was the first Detroit Grand Prix after CART took over from F1. It’ s late in the race and Al Unser Jr. is leading with Emerson Fittipaldi close behind. Their cars were racing on Larned Street approaching the left turn onto Woodward Avenue when Emmo’s car hit something. It flew into the air and landed in front of Little Al’s car. Emmo went on to win the race. My question is: What exactly happened here? The broadcast didn’t seem to review it, and I know I didn’t imagine it.

Second, living on the Canadian border allowed me to see coverage of the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal. It’s the late 1980s and each year I would see this man standing in the area of pit out. I believe the man had a beard and he stood there unprotected. It looked like the cars might pass close enough that he could reach out and touch them. It always amazed me when I saw that. Who was that man, and why was he there?

Tim Davis, Detroit, MI

MP: I would have been 12 when the first race took place, and I’m not sure any of my books from that year are readily available. Hopefully Mailbag readers can help in your quest.

Q: The Robin Miller Room opened fairly recently in Charlie Brown’s in Speedway, Ind. I’m fairly certain that you are aware of it. Perhaps, you have even visited it – as I did – and was stunned by the crystal chandelier! Wondering what Robin might opine about that stellar crystal chandelier? Ha ha.

Tom Fitzgerald, CPA-retired, Las Vegas, NV

MP: Seen photos of it but haven’t visited, yet. If Miller was still with us, I’m sure it would have been changed to a couple of old broken wheels from the Foyt shop down the street with a couple of lightbulbs jammed between the spokes.

Q: I know it is difficult, if not impossible, to compare drivers of different generations. Having said that, I think it is helpful to look at winning percentages over different generations.

Here are the Formula 1 drivers with the highest winning percentages.

I have several observations on the above.

I would love to hear your takes on this.

Bob Isabella, Mentor, OH

MP: Throw in Senna, my favorite, and Schumacher, and the list is formidable. My father’s favorite was Clark, and of all on the list, I’ve met few who saw Fangio race, but many who witnessed Clark in action and en masse, they’ve hailed the Scot as the greatest they’ve seen.

An item I always bear in mind when F1’s greats are being debated is their era of machine -- folks often and rightly point to the differing eras of safety -- because that’s an undeniable factor to consider. From the early years of Schumacher and back, mechanical or electrical failure was commonplace, a constant risk.

It was an extra skill that needed to be developed, to race at whatever limit your chassis, and engine, and gearbox could take, without exceeding levels for all three. It meant racing at 100 percent wasn’t an option, other than in short bursts, for fear of something breaking, and that mechanical sympathy, over time and technological improvement, has mostly become an afterthought. To get to those gaudy stats, both raw speed and a sympathetic touch were required.

Doesn’t mean the Vettels and Hamiltons and Verstappens are lesser drivers; they have new areas to master that the old guard would have never imagined, but mechanical sympathy isn’t much of a factor with the incredible state of reliability that’s been achieved. Different challenges, but none greater or lesser than their predecessors.

We'll let the image library's caption do the talking for this one: Left-to-right: Peter Jopp, Graham Hill, John Trimble, Ron Flockhart and John Cooper watch Jim Clark drink a cocktail called 'Laird's Mix'. November, 1961. No amount of Googling was able to reveal any further information about Laird's Mix but it clearly didn't have any effects that lasted beyond the following day – at the time this was taken, Clark still had two world championships and an Indy 500 win ahead of him. Motorsport Images

Q: As a spectator at Mid-Ohio for 40 years, I have seen the place keep evolving. Back during the Escort Endurance series, a Supra turbo lost its brakes and went straight off at China Beach. The water barrels became a ramp while the nose shoved up, the car cleared the fence and landed flat at a thankfully vacated spectator area. Lengthening that area took away the space that had been BFGoodrich hospitality for the IMSA GTP years.

Ron, Akron, OH

MP: I’m just happy to learn that significant investment is being made in the property. The next task for Mid-Ohio is to bring its paddock out of the 1970s and '80s, when most of it was built. I love the place and hope it completes the modernization efforts soon.

Q: Now that GM is going to F1, is it too early to start talking about drivers? Sign Jak Crawford and keep him in F2 another year (he’s currently ahead of Colapinto and Antonelli in the F2 point standings). Colton heads to Europe to get those Super License points? Lots of work to do in a short period of time.

Dave Surgent

CHRIS MEDLAND: Never too early to talk about drivers, it’s one of the most fun things to do! Colton certainly looks like a heavy favorite to be involved, and he doesn’t need to head to Europe – just a strong IndyCar season should get him over the line. Some FP1 outings would also help, but that would need a partnership somewhere…

I think Crawford would be a really good option in the future, he’s still only 19 and closing in on his own Super License – 14 points this weekend would see him finish at least fourth in the F2 standings – but there are also some very good experienced options. If I were GM, I’d give Colton his chance if he gets his Super License, or maybe turn to Pato if not, but then pair the IndyCar star with an experienced race-winner such as Valtteri Bottas or Daniel Ricciardo if you could attract the latter.

New regulations in 2026 mean very different cars so there’s no guarantee the experienced driver’s form would carry over, but they would be able to point the team in the right direction.

Q: I have never felt sorry for Michael Andretti, before now, but with the announcement of Cadillac and TWG (the owner of Andretti Global, ostensibly owned by Mark Walter, and Dan Towriss) it seems this whole 11th F1 team was spearheaded by Mikey, and then he was left hanging out to dry by Mr. Walter and Mr. Towriss. The conspiracy theorist in me says: Follow the money.

Russell Zipoff

CM: "Follow the money" is always a good approach, but I would flip it around to point out Andretti needed that backing from TWG to be able to put the project together. How he feels he was treated in all of that will be interesting to find out in future, but much like Guenther Steiner was running a team owned and funded by Gene Haas, Michael was also at the mercy of those putting the money in.

Q: If you were awarding percentages on what caused F1 to approve Cadillac as an entrant in F1, where would you assign the dropping of Michael Andretti from the effort and the involvement of congress in an unfair trade practices investigation?

John Malone is notoriously anti paying corporate taxes. I personally believe he doesn’t want the government snooping around his businesses any more than they have to.

P. Worth Thompson

CM: Answering honestly, from what I’ve picked up I would go with it being 0.5% to do with Michael not being involved. Even if there were personal clashes over his approach, he was not a reason for it happening or not, from what I understand.

But the DOJ stuff, I’d give 50% to. I feel like F1 didn’t want to expand, but once the FIA opened up the process its hands were almost tied, so it then looked at all the options and identified what it would want in an ideal world. That was a full works team from GM (or any other OEM I imagine), and so it rejected the original proposal and said what it would want.

Without the DOJ investigation, I’d suggest the situation would have drifted for a while and F1 would have had no urgency to find a solution. Either it could stick with 10 – as it originally preferred – or it would get a major manufacturer-backed 11th team, and either way it would have been satisfied. I still think we’d have ended up with GM coming in, but perhaps not until 2028, or after having taken over an existing team.

Q: I recall that when Michael Andretti was hell-bent on getting into F1 early he had made a deal to use Alpine engines until the Cadillac engine was available. Now even Alpine F1 won’t be using the Alpine engine -- they’re going to Mercedes next year. So, what engine would Cadillac F1 be using in 2026?

Martin Bose

CM: I’m told the likely one is Ferrari, where there will be a space freed up by Audi’s arrival (Ferrari currently supplies Sauber as well as Haas). But if that doesn’t happen, Honda would be forced to supply one as part of the regulations, which is something F1 ideally wants to avoid. If a manufacturer or team didn’t want to have to supply another outfit/share its exclusivity deal, it’s not a good situation to have it forced on it.

Q: Last week I wrote in the question that ended with, "If you were an F1 driver, with hindsight, at the start of this year you would still want to be in the Red Bull, right?"

I do concede that it is not as obvious of an answer as the previous two years, but I think the answer is clearly Red Bull with Ferrari and McLaren in a very close race for second.

I think with relatively close car potential a team with two good drivers is going to beat what is effectively a one driver team in the constructors' championship every time. Without taking anything away from Max, he shouldn't get extra credit for having a teammate that is underperforming so much that there is going to be a Red Bull shareholder meeting about it.

If you were to rank the Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes drivers based on who you would want driving for your team right now is there any driver you wouldn't pick Perez over?

Will, Indy

CM: It’s always hard to judge how to view a performance in the moment, because you describe Checo as underperforming but it could be that Max is so good at dealing with a tough car that he’d still have the same margin against multiple other drivers. Don’t forget, Checo finished second in last year’s drivers’ standings. At the very least, if the car is so different now that it shows Verstappen’s adaptability.

But yes, I agree with you that I wouldn’t pick Perez over any of the seven drivers above him in the standings. Nor a number of others below him, based on this year.

Went hunting for a shot of Michael Andretti that we haven't run lately. Found one! Motorsport Images

Q: I fail to see how the Andretti-less Cadillac F1 entry is anything but the exact same team, minus one man and his name. It is financed by the same company. The cars will be built in the same place(s), by the same people that Andretti has been recruiting. The acceptance statement even calls Dan Towriss the CEO of "TWG Global's motorsport business," which literally is Andretti Global. Calling the team Cadillac from the outset does not make GM's future commitment any more solid; once they're in, they will do what they like. By 2027 they might be thinking: Alpine have just saved themselves a fortune by ditching their own engines, these Ferraris are pretty good, and everyone just calls our car a Cadillac anyway...

Am I missing something here?

Addressing some of the reasons that the Andretti bid was rejected... How will this team be any more competitive than before? Why is it no longer "damaging to the prestige and standing of the championship" for them to start off with a customer engine? How have the apparent problems in accommodating an 11th team in the paddocks of the world suddenly and mysteriously been resolved? It's almost as if none of these things were genuine issues in the first place.

I feel like I should be more pleased that we will have an 11th team after all, but the whole thing is tainted by the absolute rubbish that came before it.  The rejection was clearly unfair, but F1 has somehow made the acceptance seem almost unfair as well.

Rob MacDonald, Chippenham, UK

CM: I addressed a lot of this recently in a feature Rob, because you’re right that there’s not a huge amount that’s different. But I do buy into the extra commitment side, even if GM might feel it was generally similar, a Cadillac F1 team (or any GM team) is far more recognizable and marketable on a global scale – for F1 itself – than Andretti.

The problems with accommodating still exist and have not yet been resolved. A number of personnel have said, “No idea what we’re going to do in Monaco or Zandvoort” but they’ll have to find a way. Some other venues are already improving infrastructure and new contracts help with that too – the Hungaroring, for example, is currently totally rebuilding its pit and paddock area.

On the customer engine front, the Renault was going to be badged as a Cadillac, which was seen by some as a problem, but more importantly the fact Renault then pulled out as a PU manufacturer highlighted the danger of that partnership. A Ferrari deal would be stronger, plus badged as Cadillac-Ferrari from what I understand, but it still could fail to get signed and a Honda supply enforced.

That’s where I’d say the DOJ investigation accelerated things. F1 would much rather have all of that ironed out or agree a date when GM had its own PU ready before accepting an entry. Audi, for example, was confirmed as joining F1 in August of 2022 because of the lead time on its power unit, which would be the same timeframe as 2028 for GM now.

Q: I’ve been a motorsports fan since the mid-1950s and I’ve never seen anything like this:

“Speaking to NBC News, Mario explained how he had been talking to Domenicali about his visit to Washington, upon invitation, as US Congress got involved with F1’s rejection of Andretti-Cadillac, at which point Maffei apparently had his say. 'I was asked to go there,' said Mario. 'And just as I was trying to explain that to Stefano, Greg Maffei, Mr. Maffei, broke in the conversation and he said: "Mario, I want to tell you that I will do everything in my power to see that Michael never enters Formula 1."

There seems to be something deeply personal going on here, as this is just beyond "business." Is there something going on in the background?

DeeAnn Hopings, Cathedral City, CA

CM: So, this quote is from May and around the Miami Grand Prix, and was disputed by F1 and Liberty Media – although my sources suggested there were at least words exchanged.

I’m sure Michael won’t be on some Christmas card lists but I honestly don’t believe the lack of a relationship with F1 bosses ever reached the extent where it would have stopped the team coming in in its current guise. From what I was told in Las Vegas, if Michael was still team principal, the GM works team would still have been approved.

Q: Lots being made about the F1 constructors’ championship and its payouts. Of course everyone is going to want to make more money, but where does it go? With teams coming close to if not exceeding the cost cap, they can't use the income for improvements, right? There's investor payouts, can they escrow the rest?

Bernard, Texas

CM: They can use them for Capital Expenditure – so, big development projects and investments. Plus there are a number of areas outside the cost cap that resource can be diverted to, they just have a far smaller impact on car performance.

But the figure that was landed on was largely due to the way teams were financed in the past, which was through owners and backers. They didn’t come close to breaking even before the cost cap. Now, if you pull of some great sponsorship deals and earn good prize money, you can get close to or even reach that point.

That simply means the owners don’t have to actively put much or any finance into the team, and they can even take a profit out of it if they really want. But many teams also have other projects outside of F1 they invest in, such as Red Bull Advanced Technologies, Ferrari’s Hypercar and other racing projects, Mercedes and the America’s Cup, etc.

THE FINAL WORD

From Robin Miller's Mailbag, December 4, 2013

ROBIN MILLER: Let me give you the best perspective I can think of to answer your question. Rick Mears was spotting for Jason Leffler at Indy in 2000, and after the race he said the only time he thought JPM hustled the car all day was when Buddy Lazier got within striking distance. Then Montoya vanished in traffic. It was a clinic, and even got Mr. Foyt’s admiration: “That Montereier is a helluva driver,” said the Indy legend afterwards.