Former Formula 1 world champion Mario Andretti will be a director on the board of the newly approved Cadillac F1 team, which puts a famous American car maker with racing partner Andretti Global on the grid in 2026.

It was a long and agonizing road. Andretti Global’s application was denied in early 2024 by F1’s commercial side. But after investor Dan Towriss took control of the organization from his son, Michael Andretti, and GM stepped up its commitments, the racing team is finally having its moment — albeit under the GM and Cadillac brand.

An elated Mario Andretti spoke to NBC News about achieving his dream and his role in the new team: advising on driver selection and the technical side. He said the team is in discussions with Ferrari to build an engine for the first two years before 2028, when it plans to have a Cadillac power unit. He said the target is to launch with one experienced F1 driver and one “young American talent.”

“Formula 1 is really the Olympics of motorsports, because of the international nature of it,” he said. “And so there’s a lot of national pride that goes with it. And we have three races like no other country on the planet has. And to have your own team playing, just like when you have our own performance in the Olympics — the National Anthem will play when you’re the top step of the podium.”

Below is a transcript of Andretti’s exclusive interview with NBC News on the day of the F1 announcement Monday, lightly edited for length and clarity.

Mario, congratulations on the big breakthrough. How are you feeling?

Relieved, among other things. I couldn’t be happier that everything has finally come together properly, and everyone is happy. So that’s the main thing. I’m especially pleased that we could deliver, finally, to the team that has already been assembled, where some individuals just believed in us, and they took a risk, if you will, by committing. And now they have a future. So meaningful at this moment for all of us. And now it’s just concentrating on the project and the challenges that we have ahead of us. But this is what we relish. So it couldn’t be better. You have no idea now relieved I am that all of this has come to fruition.

This has been your dream for many years.

Yes, indeed. Let’s face it, Sahil, I fell in love with the sport, with Formula 1, when I was still a youngster in Italy. A teenager. That’s what started it all for me. And having had the opportunity to pursue the sport, coming to the States, and then pursuing Formula 1 — all of it. I don’t know anyone that loves the sport more than I do. Maybe as much, but I will challenge anyone to love it more than I do. So I’m all in. And this is what I live for. Isn’t that beautiful? The sun is shining.

Tell me about your role, Mario. You’ll be a director on the board. What does that mean? Will it be sort of what Niki Lauda did for Mercedes?

Basically that. Obviously, they’ll try to tap off of my experience and what I see — selection of driver talents and even technical talents. The sport is my family. I continuously have been involved in a lot of that, and it continues. And that’s it. I don’t want a specific job per se, where I have to punch in every day. I don’t need and want that. But I welcome the opportunity to definitely be part of a lot of key decisions. This is my rodeo.

And the role of Andretti Global? It sounds like Andretti will build the car, Cadillac will build the engine and the power unit eventually. Or is it more complicated?

No, no, it’s not. That’s exactly the way it’s going to be. In that respect, nothing changes. The team is all in, and a lot of work has already been done, believe it or not.

The Andretti bid to enter F1 had stalled for many months. What were the keys that led to this breakthrough?

It’s hard to put your finger on it. I could go back and bring up events and so forth, but some of it was not very pleasant, and I don’t really want to talk about any of that. All of that is behind us. We just look forward now. It’s happened, and it’s happened properly. Everyone is happy, including my son, Michael. That’s the most important part. No one is diminished or suffered.

Do you know when this team is going to become a “works” team with its own power unit? I know that it wasn’t announced in the press release, but I heard 2028 is the target.

The process is on right now. We’ll be on the grid in 2026 and Cadillac will be part of it in every way. The development of the power unit will be continuing. The team will be complete and operational by 2026, and Cadillac is very much part of it.

So it’s fair to say the target for the original power unit is 2028.

That’s the target, and it’s gonna happen.

And which engine do you expect to use in the early years in 2026 and 2027? The rumors in the paddock in Las Vegas were that you’ll use a Ferrari engine. Is that correct?

That’s what we’re talking about. That’s not definite yet, but that’s the objective. And that’s the preference.

That could put you in a fantastic position in 2026 with the new regulations if Ferrari gets it together.

Absolutely. Even my history with Ferrari, and my relationship with Mr. Ferrari — all of it plays, plays tremendously. There’s so many factors here that make a lot of sense. It will be best of all worlds.

Are you considering or talking to other suppliers for the engine early on, whether it’s Mercedes or anyone else?

Not yet, no.

OK. Sounds like Ferrari is the priority in the early years.

We’re staying with that objective.

What realistically do you think you can achieve in 2026 and ‘27? Do you think a championship is in the cards, or is that too soon?

You always try to reach for the stars. From my standpoint, that’s always been my approach. If you don’t have that mindset, then you’re not ever going to succeed. That’s your best chance to really go out there and perform at the best possible level.

For F1’s U.S. audience, this is a huge deal — finally an American car manufacturer and a well-known racing team Andretti. What does it mean for the country?

Formula 1 is really the Olympics of motorsports, because of the international nature of it. And so there’s a lot of national pride that goes with it. And we have three races like no other country on the planet has. And to have your own team playing, just like when you have our own performers in the Olympics — the National Anthem will play when you’re the top step of the podium. So that’s what you’re looking for. Let’s face it, that’s what you’re in the business for. That creates that type of excitement. The fans will expect a lot from us, and we understand that. We expect a lot from ourselves.

What about the first national anthem, for the driver? Do you expect to prioritize finding American drivers, like Colton Herta? Who are you looking at?

Right now, I think yes. You mentioning candidates — he’s definitely one that’s considered. I think you have to keep those options open, since it’s going to be a whole next season where we’re not going to be players.

I talked to some young drivers and some veterans about this in the paddock in Las Vegas. Valtteri Bottas, the 10-time race winner, said he might be interested in a Cadillac F1 seat. Liam Lawson, the young RB driver, said it’d be great to have two more seats on the grid. What’s the impact of that?

They said it all. There are more drivers available than teams at the moment. Ten teams seems a lot, but there’s a lot more drivers, lot more talent out there. From our standpoint, I think the play at the beginning would be to have one experienced driver — nationality doesn’t matter — and then a young American talent. These are the objectives at the moment.

Mario, thank you so much for your time. It’s a pleasure, and congratulations on the big breakthrough.

And thank you for your interest.