Former F1 team principal Otmar Szafnauer says General Motors must prepare for big challenges before it can be competitive.
GM has an agreement in principle to enter F1 in 2026 with a new team formed by the Andretti family which races under the Cadillac brand. Szafnauer, who managed Racing Point (now Aston Martin, previously Force India) and Alpine during his time in F1, admitted to having underestimated the challenge of racing in Grand Prix himself.
“The only worry I would have if I were an executive at General Motors would be that I underestimated the task ahead to be competitive in Formula 1,” he declared.
“It seems like people or organizations that haven't been involved don't realize how difficult it is. I didn't realize how difficult it was either.”
Szafnauer arrived in F1 with British American Racing (BAR) in 1999. He said he was convinced by designer Adrian Reynard's prediction that they would win from their debut.
-“I believed in it because the level of skill I saw in front of me was much higher than what I had experienced. And I believed these guys were going to make it.”
“Adrian had won in every other lower formula, from his first race, including IndyCar. So I think he knows what he's talking about. We're going to get there. Do you remember how many points we scored during that first year? Was it zero…”
