Good morning! Sorry about the formatting in our last newsletter. Don’t worry, we fired the guy who was responsible. Now if you don't live under a rock, you've probably heard about Andretti Global partnering with GM to boost their bid to join F1.

We thought that this was such exciting news that it warranted this impromptu newsletter! In this edition, you can read all about the partnership, stay up to date on the latest happenings in motorsports, and read Parker's thoughts on F1's success in America.

Andretti Global Revs up F1 Bid with Cadillac Partnership

Andretti Global and General Motors have announced their intention to compete in the FIA Formula One World Championship, with GM being represented by its Cadillac brand. The team, called Andretti Cadillac, will be based in the US with a support facility in the UK and is planning to submit an Expression of Interest when the FIA opens the formal process. If selected, the team hopes to compete as soon as possible with at least one American driver.

"We are continuing to grow Andretti Global and its family of racing teams and always have our eyes on what’s next. I feel that we are well suited to be a new team for Formula One and can bring value to the series and our partners, and excitement for the fans. I’m proud to have GM and Cadillac alongside us as we pursue this goal," says Michael Andretti, Chairman and CEO of Andretti Global.

Cadillac has a successful track record in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and Pirelli World Challenge, and will continue to compete in sports car racing with the all-new hybrid Cadillac V-LMDh in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the FIA World Endurance Championship. Andretti Global currently competes in seven top-tier series around the world.

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American Riders Take Dakar by Storm

In the 2023 Dakar Rally, American riders Skyler Howes and Mason Klein had successful runs in Stage 5. Howes finished sixth in the stage, securing him the overall lead in the bikes category. Klein, who had experienced some difficulty in the previous stage due to a fuel pump issue, placed fourth in Stage 5. In the cars division, Nasser Al-Attiyah won the stage and further extended his overall lead. Stage 5 was challenging for competitors, with large dunes and tricky navigation, but both Howes and Klein managed to overcome these obstacles and achieve strong finishes.

Stage 5 Recap: Americans regain lead, tough terrain takes it's toll

Ocon Given Crash Course in Teammate Etiquette

Esteban Ocon needs to be mindful of any potential conflicts with his teammates while on the track this season. According to Alpine Formula 1 boss Otmar Szafnauer, Ocon needs to make "better judgements" when racing wheel-to-wheel with his teammate. This comes after Ocon had a few tense moments with Fernando Alonso last season, including a collision at Interlagos. Szafnauer hopes that Ocon has learned from these experiences and won't repeat them with his new teammate, Pierre Gasly.

But don't worry, Szafnauer still thinks Ocon is a talented driver and has improved overall since he worked with him at Force India/Racing Point in 2017-2018. He cited Ocon's victory at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix and fourth place finish at the Japanese Grand Prix as examples of his growth as a driver. So it looks like Ocon just needs to use his head a little more on the track, and everything should be smooth sailing (or racing, as it were).

IMSA Adds Another One Making it 61 Entries for the 61st 24 Hours of Daytona

The 61st Rolex 24 at Daytona now has a total of 61 entries. The previously announced capacity of 60 cars was increased by one with the addition of the No. 75 SunEnergy1 Racing Mercedes-AMG to the GT Daytona class.

The Rolex 24 will take place in just three weeks time on Saturday, January 28, with on-track action beginning on Friday, January 20 for the Roar Before the 24.

Parker's POV

Yesterday's announcement by the Andretti family and Cadillac that they are making a bid to join the F1 grid is significant. Not only because of its shock value, but mostly because of how the Andretti family has been treated in the past when expressing interest in joining the F1 grid. They had previously shown that they had the backing of wealthy Americans and clearly knew racing. However, they received a lot of backlash from other teams, particularly Toto Wolff of Mercedes, because they felt that the Andretti name alone was not enough to bring value to F1 without an OEM attached.

In their view, an OEM must be a part of the new team because they will spend as much on their program as they do on advertising their involvement, which is good for the series. Alternatively, it must be a group so outside the motorsports realm that it brings in a whole new set of eyes. The Andretti family did not fit either of those criteria - until now. This partnership will likely be taken more seriously, but knowing F1, it is not a done deal yet - fingers crossed.

It's truly wild to witness what has occurred in the seven years since Liberty Media bought F1. I've been watching F1 for a long time. In 1999, at the age of nine, I saw racing for the first time and it was F1. I knew immediately that it was where I wanted to go. However, by the time I was 16 and trying to secure funding to go to Europe to pursue my dream, I kept facing an issue. When I mentioned F1, people would look at me, tilt their head and reply, "Do you mean NASCAR?" F1 was not a term that people recognized aside from on a keyboard.

Yet this year, F1 will have a US driver on the grid, a hit reality show in US living rooms, three races in the US, an experience center in Las Vegas, and when I walk through the Charlotte airport (the home of NASCAR), the Tumi store has a massive poster of F1 driver Lando Norris.

By the end of the year, we may also learn that F1 will have two American-owned teams, in addition to the American media company that owns it. It's clear that the series is not only owned by Americans, but is American. In just seven years, the United States has taken over the world's largest motorsport series.

What a time to be alive.

ONBOARD OF THE DAY

1978 On Board Mario Andretti / F1 Lotus Ford

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