Latest news with #Towriss
Indianapolis Star
24-05-2025
- Automotive
- Indianapolis Star
'Same goal' for Marco Andretti after father's resignation from Andretti Global
INDIANAPOLIS — Michael Andretti plans to attend the Indy 500 to support his son Marco. As of now, the elder Andretti is 'relaxing in Italy,' the younger Andretti said. Since stepping down from ownership at Andretti Global, Andretti has had more leisure time. Andretti founded the motorsport team in 2003 but transitioned to an adviser role when he gave control to TWG Motorsports CEO Dan Towriss in September. His announcement shocked the racing world but it didn't surprise Marco. 'I knew it a year before,' Marco said. Marco said the atmosphere at Andretti Global has felt the same since his father's resignation because most team members from Michael's tenure are still present. Marco said he appreciates Towriss and TWG for not cutting corners as an ownership group. 'We want to do right by them': Andretti brand key part of TWG Motorsports moving forward The Andretti family name is established in motorsport history. Michael's father, Mario Andretti, won the 1969 Indianapolis 500 and four IndyCar Series championships. Michael won 42 races and a championship in his career. Marco came on the scene in 2006 and won the IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year Award. Andretti Global already has a win this season as Towriss celebrated Kyle Kirkwood's win at the Long Beach Grand Prix, the lone race not won by Alex Palou. And a second win for the team could be even sweeter for the Andretti family. Marco is hoping to win his first Indy 500 in his 20th attempt Sunday. The 38-year-old acknowledged that his father cheering him on as a supporter Memorial Day weekend excites him. Michael's decision to relinquish ownership duties doesn't affect Marco's desire to keep racing and build upon his family legacy. 'I don't think (him stepping down) really changed my approach,' Marco said. 'That's (racing) been the same goal all along for me.'
The South African
20-05-2025
- Automotive
- The South African
NASCAR star linked with F1 seat in 2026
A NASCAR star linked with F1 will be competing at the Indianapolis 500 this weekend in just his second open-wheel race. While there are already many drivers strongly linked with the American outfit – this one could be different. The NASCAR star linked with F1 will go against more established names like Sergio Perez, Valtteri Bottas, Guanyu Zhou and Mick Schumacher. Nevertheless, the clear idea was that Cadillac F1 would likely pair American Indycar star Colton Herta, despite not yet having an F1 super license, with an experienced F1 driver. 'There's a lot of interest in this team and we're very appreciative of that,' said Dan Towriss, a key figure at Cadillac. Despite Trump's tariff increases, General Motors-backed Cadillac promises to be on the grid in 2026. Image: File Likewise, he doesn't hide the desire to centre the General Motors-backed team around an American driver. But Towriss also acknowledges that a different approach might be needed initially. 'We want that person set up for success. And we want that seat respected when that American driver does come in for the team,' Towriss said. Nevertheless, a growing feeling in the paddock is that Cadillac's strategy might be to leave Herta (25) out for now. They instead appear to be piqued by another, a NASCAR star linked with F1. Something which will prove beneficial for the American market in another way. Mexican Pato O'Ward, for example, is an Indycar driver constantly linked with F1. When asked about the Cadillac rumours, McLaren CEO Zak Brown – who runs O'Ward in Indycar – did not deny the link. 'I wouldn't like it, but I wouldn't stop him,' confirmed Brown. This weekend, Larson will run a McLaren at the Indy 500. Image: File And the big name to add to the Cadillac mix is NASCAR star Kyle Larson (32). He is a driver often compared in terms of talent to Max Verstappen. When the Associated Press asked General Motors president Mark Reuss about Kyle Larson, he answered: 'Let's focus on Indianapolis first.' Indeed, Larson is contesting the Indy 500 this weekend, for the second time in his career. Likewise, Reuss denied that Donald Trump's controversial tariff regime will affect the Cadillac F1 project in 2026. – with GMM Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
New York Times
14-05-2025
- Automotive
- New York Times
Cadillac's F1 team takes shape: Inside the race to launch America's 2026 contender
'Everything starts here tonight.' Dan Towriss, CEO of TWG Motorsports, had long dreamed of this moment: standing on a stage in the middle of a high-end Miami restaurant, converted for the night into the 'Cadillac Club' to celebrate the team's entry into Formula One in 2026. Towriss, wearing an all-white suit, had been welcomed onto the stage by actor Terry Crews, who'd hyped up the crowd gathering on the floor below. Before Crews, Grammy-nominated singer and actress Janelle Monae had performed a set that included a surprise appearance on a balcony to one side of the room, drawing attention away from the queues forming at the open bars. Advertisement Twelve months earlier, such a night seemed a distant hope at best. In January 2024 (back when the proposed 11th F1 team entrant was still Andretti instead of Cadillac), F1 had rejected an expansion of the grid beyond 10 teams, none of whom seemed at all interested in pulling another chair up at their exclusive table. Now, not only had Cadillac been accepted warmly to the grid thanks its General Motors backing, but personnel from many of the existing teams were spending their Saturday nights enjoying Cadillac's hospitality, hanging on Towriss' every word. 'The environment has changed,' Towriss had told reporters earlier in the day in Miami. 'It's very welcoming and we certainly appreciate that. The past is the past and we're now welcome onto the grid. We appreciate that and we're getting about our work.' As impressive as Cadillac's glitzy, no-expense-spared Miami launch may have been, its first F1 race is now less than a year away — and working to make the start is its primary focus. There is no time to waste. During a media round table that included The Athletic during the Miami GP weekend, Towriss claimed the close partnership and integration between Cadillac and General Motors is what sets his team's entry apart on the grid. General Motors has an extensive motorsports history with different brands such as Chevrolet, which has won NASCAR's manufacturers' championship more than 40 times. The next closest is Ford at 17. Team principal Graeme Lowdon told The Athletic that Cadillac has a clear schedule for creating its car and the most recent milestone it met was the delivery of its first 2026 chassis. A roll hoop was attached to it, and while this won't be built into the actual car, this will be used for all testing purposes. 'The homologation tests are very intensive,' Lowdon explained, referring to the stringent FIA requirements that each new chassis must pass before being approved for competition. 'And that's giving us a chance already to make sure that when we start making the production chassis, we'll be comfortable that we'll pass all the tests, because we don't have a '25 chassis manufactured to test.' Up until this point, the team has been creating quarter chassis (essentially partial models) as 'they're quicker to make,' Lowdon said. But Cadillac couldn't simulate certain tests with the quarter chassis. A full chassis will allow it to take the next step forward in testing and development. Engines take time to develop, particularly ahead of seasons when regulations change, as they do in 2026. As GM president Mark Reuss said in a media roundtable during the Miami GP, the team is having to look at 'energy and power and how to store it, how to make it, and how to carry it — and do it really efficiently.' Advertisement GM Performance Power Units LLC, which was founded by General Motors and TWG Motorsports, received approval from the FIA last month to become an F1 power unit (PU) supplier beginning in 2029. Cadillac will therefore be using Ferrari power units as a customer squad for its first three F1 seasons. Lowdon said the relationship's required for the PU and transmission development 'is going really well.' 'We've already been doing a lot of impact testing of front (wing) noses and things for quite some time now, so all the bits are starting to kind of come together,' Lowdon said. 'It's cool to see when parts are arriving… The actual race cars are still some way off being made, but everything's moving along in the right way.' This F1 team began building before it received the official green light for entry onto the grid from the FIA and F1, during its Andretti infancy. It started up its satellite base at Silverstone in the UK in early 2024 and its headcount was over 120 people by May 2024. Cadillac now has just under 400 full-time employees, according to Lowdon, and is still growing. 'We get, on average, just over one a day now, joining the team,' he said, adding that some personnel are coming from other teams while some are from outside the world of F1. There are some areas where Cadillac hasn't hired yet, including the garage staff, such as mechanics to service the race cars at F1 events. Lowdon said, 'We're recruiting them now and they'll join in three months or six months,' depending on when certain departments are needed. The expectation is that the number of people employed will be around 600 when the 2026 season begins, according to Lowdon. The biggest F1 teams — including Mercedes and Red Bull — have approximately 1,200 staff. Haas, as the smallest team on the grid, has 330. But building the workforce for this project doesn't stop, though there is the cost cap, which limits how much can be spent on certain operations, to consider. More factories are coming online stateside, starting next year with Cadillac's Fishers, Indiana, F1 headquarters. 'The next growth element is on the manufacturing side and that will be primarily Fishers,' Lowdon said. 'And we have to wait until the building's built. Then we have to put machinery in there and then we have to train people.' As of March 2025, the exterior of the Fishers building was complete, and the expectation is for the facility to be online in Q1 next year, according to Lowdon. He added, 'I think it'll become a destination for U.S. Formula One fans as well — a place where you can go and see Formula One cars getting made. Nowhere else in the U.S. you can do that.' Advertisement Cadillac's other U.S. facility being built is in NASCAR country: Concord, North Carolina. This facility will be dedicated to producing power units and the Concord city council approved $750,000 in incentives during a February meeting for the multi-million dollar facility. According to the city council's agenda from that meeting, the expectation is that it'll bring in 300 to 350 jobs, including in research and development, engineering and manufacturing. The facility will not only be built near General Motors' existing technology center in Concord, but it's also close to Hendrick Motorsports, a GM powerhouse in NASCAR. And then there's Silverstone, the European base primarily being used for car design aerodynamics — 'Because it's just impossible to hire 200 people overnight in the U.S. who already have Formula One aero experience,' Lowdon said. The manufacturing capabilities at Silverstone will be primarily used for producing wind tunnel models, considering Cadillac is using one in Cologne, Germany, to actually test its designs. But Cadillac does 'want to go and race a car that's built in America and with an engine that's built in America as well,' Lowdon said during a March media call. It'll take time to get to that point, but make no mistake — this is an American team racing under an American license in 2026. The Cadillac F1 team just happens to be surrounded by 'strong motorsport DNA' from elsewhere in the world. 'We have this iconic American brand. We'll have over 600,000 square feet of manufacturing or facilities in the United States, split between Indianapolis and Charlotte,' Towriss said. 'But there's also a great respect for the history and legacy of Formula One with the operation in Silverstone. 'When we look at those locations, while we didn't plan it this way, we're in the birthplace of Formula One, the birthplace of NASCAR and the birthplace of IndyCar.' The last 'new' team to join the F1 grid was Haas in 2016, and it made a strong debut with a driver lineup of Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutiérrez. The team finished eighth with 29 points, though Toro Rosso (now known as Racing Bulls) was miles ahead in seventh with 63 points. So, how should success be defined for Cadillac in 2026? Towriss said it's multifaceted. Advertisement 'It starts with seeing success on track. We want to build our fandom for Cadillac Formula One Team. We want commercial success,' Towriss said in Miami. 'It's really all of the above and we're here to not just to look like everybody else. We want to move Formula One forward. We want to be fresh, bold, new. Finding ways to do that and really accomplish that in Formula One. And I think when we look at all those things together, that's what's going to define success for this team.' The commercial aspect is another intriguing component Cadillac is sorting. Lowdon said he 'underestimated the appeal' his squad is already encountering on this front. There is already another U.S. team on the grid in Haas, which is owned by American Gene Haas and headquartered in Kannapolis, N.C. But a significant amount of its operations are in Europe — its cars are designed in Italy and it has a permanent team base in the UK. With Cadillac, Lowdon feels 'the approach here is different and, from what I've seen so far, it appears to be very attractive, in particular, to U.S. sponsors. It's a team they can really get behind and understand and identify with.' Lowdon couldn't say whether or not Cadillac has already signed sponsors, and given how many brands prefer to be involved with full team launches, it may be some time before announcements are made. While he's not sure what the timing of such revelations would be, Lowdon claims he's encouraged by the number and quality of brands interested in Cadillac. It's not only well-known organizations, he said, but also 'a lot that are new to Formula One, so that suggests that we're offering something new.' While many people are wondering whether one of the team's first drivers will be American, it's natural to ask whether Cadillac is keen for its main partners to be American companies. Towriss said they do 'want to have key American brands as anchors;' however, Formula One is a global motorsports series. He added, 'This isn't an America-only strategy.' 'There's a whole bunch of really creative things that are going into this, from the special nature of Cadillac, the special nature of what we're doing as Americans coming into Formula One. We totally respect what that means. It's not going to be easy,' Reuss said. 'We know it's something that obviously hasn't really been done. We're up for it, though, but we're treating it with that level of detail, sophistication. We've got one shot to get into this, and it's a long-term plan, so don't take it lightly.'
New York Times
02-05-2025
- Automotive
- New York Times
Cadillac's Road to Formula 1
In every sense, the clock is ticking on Cadillac's entry into Formula 1 next year. In March, Cadillac, supported by General Motors and TWG Motorsports, received final approval from Formula 1, expanding the grid to 11 teams for the first time since 2016. 'As soon as we got the entry, one of the things that changed is they put up a countdown clock at the factory in Silverstone,' Dan Towriss, the chief executive of TWG Motorsports, said in an interview in April. The company is a division of TWG Global, which has a sports portfolio that includes the Chelsea Football Club and the Los Angeles Dodgers and Lakers. 'We know exactly how many days to the engine's fired, how many days to the first race,' he said. 'That's how we have to think about it because there's so much work to do between now and then. It's moving faster than I want it to.' The Cadillac entry started life as Andretti Formula Racing two years ago. The F.I.A., the governing body of Formula 1, approved the proposal from Michael Andretti, the initial force behind the bid. A few months later, it was rejected by Formula 1. In an interview a year ago with The New York Times, Andretti said he would fight. Last fall, he stepped back as chief executive of Andretti Global, which owns teams in IndyCar, Formula E, Extreme E and Australian Supercars. He decided 'it was time to pass the baton' to his business partner Towriss. 'From Michael's standpoint, he was very magnanimous in a way,' said Towriss, who has known Andretti since 2017. 'He didn't want to stand in the way of this project. 'It was a long process, a taxing process, and so he chose to step away. He wasn't asked to step away, he wasn't asked to leave. I think he saw that a level of acceptance wasn't there for him.' Towriss said the move 'opened the door' with Formula 1. Five months later, Stefano Domenicali, Formula 1 president and chief executive, welcomed Cadillac. With the commitment of G.M. to bring in a Cadillac team, Domenicali said, 'it was an important and positive demonstration of the evolution of our sport.' Cadillac will become the second U.S. automaker to have a presence in the sport. Ford will provide power units to Red Bull, also starting in 2026. Towriss is saddened that Andretti stepped down. 'Just tremendous respect for what the family legacy is in motorsports, for him personally, for Mario, and the family from that standpoint,' he said, referring to Andretti's father. 'My personal opinion is that it all felt a bit unfair to be singled out in that way,' he said. 'To his credit, at some point, you just have to accept the situation for what it is and move on. With his blessing, that's what we did.' Throughout the process, the team did not stand still. Workers were hired, and the facility in Silverstone, England, was opened a year ago to complement its headquarters near Indianapolis. Formula 1's approval has accelerated the project's growth. Without a guarantee from Formula 1 of acceptance, the company still had to make a commitment. 'It was not for the faint of heart,' Towriss said. 'It takes a long time to build a Formula 1 team. I don't think anybody on our side, or anybody who knows the sport, thinks you can just show up and in a short period of time, do that. 'If we had waited until the point we were approved and then said, 'Great, now let's start hiring people, let's start building,' we'd be a long way from racing at that point.' Towriss said that Graeme Lowdon, a longtime Formula 1 executive who advised the team, was a great salesperson in convincing people to join the team. Lowdon was chief executive of the now-defunct Manor Racing. He had also been a consultant on the acquisition in 2020 of the Williams Formula 1 team by Dorilton Capital, a private investment firm whose headquarters are in New York City. In December, Lowdon was announced as the team principal of Cadillac. 'At the very beginning, a big part of the advice was to tell them to start building the team now,' he said in an interview in April. 'Then my engagement changed because they said: 'OK, we're happy with all this advice. Now you're asking us to build a team. Can you go from advising to doing it?' I guess I must have earned their trust, and they must have had confidence in what I'm doing because they then asked me to be the team principal.' Being offered the position did not come out of the blue. 'Even on our entry, I was down as the team principal,' he said. 'For two years now, on our race license — and we have a U.S. race license, and an international race license — it's my picture on it. That was something that was envisaged fairly early on.' Throughout the two years, Lowdon never doubted that the bid would fail. 'There is absolutely no scenario on earth where you could keep a perfectly good sports team from competing in a world championship,' he said, although there was a consequence. 'The thing that worried me and stressed me enormously, and I have to say it took a toll on me big time, was that it's one thing saying it will definitely happen, it's another saying when. 'We completely respected the process. Our role was to answer questions, but there's only so much of that you can do. That was an unpleasant and enormously difficult period.' The team has about 350 employees, with a target of 550 by the end of the year. Pat Symonds, former chief technical officer of Formula 1, has become the executive engineering consultant. and Nick Chester, once a technical director at Renault, is the chief technical officer. 'I thought it was going to be super difficult to hire people, but it was much easier than I thought,' Lowdon said. 'The reality is, we were very lucky. We were in a position where a lot of the early discussions with key people who came on board shared the vision.' 'On the day our entry was confirmed, we wrote to them, with an old-fashioned letter. It wasn't an 'at-all' email. The reason for that is they'd all taken a bit of a leap of faith, and we wanted to show our appreciation personally.' For the first three seasons, Cadillac will be powered by Ferrari engines until G.M. builds its power unit, which will debut in 2029. Mark Reuss, the president of G.M., said in an interview in April that it was 'a moment filled with pride, a truly historic event for the entire company' when Formula 1 confirmed the entry. From 2026 through 2028, G.M. will support Cadillac technically, including aerodynamics, performance engineering and manufacturing as it builds to become 'a distinctly American team,' Reuss said. He is aware of the challenge ahead. 'G.M. and Cadillac have been at the forefront of racing and winning in elite series for more than a century,' he said. 'We do not underestimate the level of competition nor the level of commitment needed to be included in F1.' With nine months to go until the first Cadillac/G.M. car hits the track in preseason testing, the race is on, with the countdown clock providing a continual update. 'The last time Dan was across,' Lowdon said, referring to Towriss, 'he talked to everyone at Silverstone, and he ended his address by saying, 'As you can see on the wall, we've got X number of days left, so let's crack on.' 'Everybody knows what the mission is.'
Fox News
14-04-2025
- Automotive
- Fox News
Kyle Kirkwood, new Andretti owner Dan Towriss hope Long Beach win signals team surge
LONG BEACH, Calif. — Prior to the 2025 INDYCAR season, the Andretti Global drivers indicated that they didn't see a difference between the change in ownership after Dan Towriss, the CEO of TWG Motorsports, assumed control from Michael Andretti. After three races, Kyle Kirkwood can confirm that there, in fact, is a difference. Kirkwood dominated the Grand Prix of Long Beach. He beat Alex Palou (who finished in second) by 2.68 seconds. Palou, by the way, won the first two races of the season. And Kirkwood captured his second win in the last three years at one of the sport's most historic and prestigious events, other than the Indianapolis 500. Sitting second in the standings at 34 points behind Palou, he can tell that the investment Towriss and his partners have made in the team has caused a positive shift. "We don't see exactly what goes on in the development side," Kirkwood said. "But clearly, three races in now, we seem better than we have been in the past couple years. That's due to his leadership and the investment that's going into the team. "We have an influx of people, an influx of development. There's a big will to win. We got a win here, but we also had really good performances at the past two circuits." Towriss has a lot on his sports plate these days as the owner of Andretti Global (in INDYCAR and Formula E), Spire Motorsports in NASCAR (both Cup and trucks) and Wayne Taylor Racing (IMSA). He is embarking on his biggest motorsports quest yet, as he builds the Cadillac F1 team that is set to debut on the grid next year. He didn't view the Kirkwood win as a sign of something changing in 2025. "I'd go back to following the 500 last year with some of the investments we made in the team," said Towriss, whose sports portfolio includes an ownership stake in the Los Angeles Dodgers. "Andretti Global has been on an upward trajectory on INDYCAR. I'm pleased with how we brought speed to the track." Towriss spent the weekend going from Bristol (trucks) to Miami (Formula E) to Long Beach (Dodgers, INDYCAR). He was able to celebrate on a weekend where his organization used the various events to highlight its sprawling sports interests. He celebrated in the same victory lane as he did two years ago with Kirkwood for the first win after his company had invested in Andretti. "When we first got involved from an investment standpoint with Andretti Global, we got the win. We just continued to invest in the team," Towriss said. "The team has just been so resilient, just continuing to try to get better in such a competitive series. "Today is just an extra-special win for me personally from that standpoint. To be able to do it In this location, this race, with Kyle again, is something that I'll think about for a long time." Kirkwood made it look relatively easy. He won the pole and led 46 of the 90 laps. He didn't deviate from strategy, as other drivers tried to pit on different laps to potentially gain spots. On his final stop in the caution-free race, Kirkwood blended onto the track ahead of Palou and held him off — ending the Palou quest for three consecutive wins to open the season. "We really didn't have that ultimate speed that the 27 car [of Kirkwood] had," Palou said. "They did an awesome job throughout the weekend, qualifying and the race. "He was managing. Every time I was having a small chance, he just had a little bit more pace. Shame that we couldn't really make it more interesting for the fans, but I'm super happy to be here." It was the third career win for Kirkwood, who won Long Beach and Nashville in 2023 but went winless last year. While he's second in the standings, his teammate Colton Herta is seventh and Marcus Ericsson is 12th. "We still have the same exact people around us, same exact group, but we can feel it," Kirkwood said. "Things are starting to click in multiple ways. "We're producing fast race cars. We're getting better at the places we weren't so great at. Our pit stops are exponentially better. There's a ton of investment going into it. It's big for them to see investments paying off. That's all people want to see." Towriss hopes he will see his drivers challenge and beat Palou consistently. "It's a process to improve," Towriss said. "There's a lot of areas of improvement. There's the speed in the car. There's execution on pit road from that standpoint, and we really have just continued to build. There obviously were a few things in St. Pete that were disappointing from a team standpoint [with pit-stop issues], but the speed in the car has been there. "As we continue to execute, we're very excited about the season. Obviously, Alex Palou is having one hell of a season. He's going to be tough to catch, but we think we can do it, and we're going to make it tough for him." Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
