The Andretti team's attempt to enter Formula 1 for 2025 or 2026 was rejected by the sport, but the door remained open for 2028 F1 news

F1 rules out 2025 or 2026 for the American Andretti team but keeps the door open for the 2028 season; Andretti Cadillac “strongly disagrees” with the decision; F1 says: “The presence of an 11th team alone would not add any value to the championship.”

0:16, UK, Thursday, February 1, 2024

Formula 1 has rejected Andretti's offer to compete as the 11th team in the 2025 or 2026 season.

However, the door to a possible entry of the American team in 2028 remains open.

Andretti's application, led by former McLaren driver Michael Andretti and his father Mario, the 1978 world champion, had gone through the first approval processes from the FIA, motorsport's governing body, in October, but also required the approval of Formula 1 the commercial benefit of the application.

Formula 1 management, the sport's commercial rights holder, announced its decision in a lengthy statement on Wednesday after several months of commercial assessments, citing several reasons why it had concluded that “the presence of an 11th team alone would not offer any added value.” to the championship”.

“The most important value a newcomer can achieve is their competitiveness,” the F1 statement said.

“We don’t believe the applicant would be a competitor.

Martin Brundle believes Formula 1's rejection of Andretti's offer could put pressure on relations between the FIA ​​and Formula 1.

“Requiring each new team to adopt a mandatory power unit over a period of several seasons would be detrimental to the prestige and reputation of the Championship.”

Mario Andretti posted later

Formula One's justification placed particular emphasis on the fact that Andretti, who has partnered with luxury car brand Cadillac, would have entered Formula One and required the supply of customer engines from one of the sport's existing manufacturers.

General Motors, which owns Cadillac, applied last November to be approved as an engine manufacturer in Formula 1, but not until 2028.

If Andretti applies again, there is a possibility that Andretti will apply for a four-year term. Formula 1 said it would “look different” in a 2028 bid if General Motors was able to provide an engine.

“In this case, additional factors would need to be considered in relation to the value the applicant would bring to the championship, particularly in relation to bringing a prestigious new OEM into the sport as a PU supplier,” the F1 statement added.

Brundle's verdict on Formula 1's Andretti decision

Martin Brundle from Sky Sports F1:

“As a Formula 1 fan and as a commentator, I would be happy if an 11th and even a 12th team were at the start.

“Not least because drivers like Verstappen, Leclerc, Norris and others have signed up for a very long time to stay in the same teams, the calendar is pretty mature these days, so it would be pretty exciting to see that.”

“But it's much more complex than that. This puts the FIA, the regulators, in an absolute confrontation with Formula 1 management and Liberty Media, the financial rights holders, because the FIA ​​said 'yes' and F1 said 'no' to something.” They often referred to themselves in the document as “11. Team” and not necessarily as Andretti.

“She [F1] rightly say that it would be too much for Andretti as a new team, or “newbie” as they call it, to build a brand new car for 2025 and, if the regulations change fundamentally for 2026, to start all over again. A big one challenge and they think they won't be competitive.

“Andretti will undoubtedly say, 'Well, give us a chance.' “We are a powerful organization with a lot of money, we will show what we can do and take a look at some of the other teams on the grid.”

“So it’s going to stay that way for quite a while.

“There are many logical reasons. Added to this are the logistics and the provision of an additional team in the pit lane and around the world for this year’s 24-race calendar.”

Andretti's answer

In his formal response on Wednesday evening, Andretti released a statement strongly rejecting Formula 1's conclusions.

The statement said: “Andretti Cadillac has reviewed the information shared by Formula One Management Limited and strongly disagrees with its contents.”

“Andretti and Cadillac are two successful global motorsports organizations committed to bringing a true American factory team to Formula 1 that competes with the best in the world.

“We are proud of the significant progress we have already made in developing a highly competitive car and power unit with an experienced team behind us, and our work continues apace.”

“Andretti Cadillac would also like to thank the fans who have expressed their support.”

What led to Formula 1's decision not to allow Andretti entry for the time being?

Former racing driver Michael Andretti believed his team, Andretti Autosport, could bring more to Formula 1 as he wanted to enter the sport in 2025

Formula 1 outlined the process it went through to reach its final decision, saying it had “considered the wide range of ways in which value could be created, including value for fans, prestige and the reputation of the sport as well as the competitive balance of the championship and the sustainability goals of the sport.

“Every 11th team should show that their participation and commitment would bring benefit to the championship,” Formula 1 said in its statement.

“The most significant value a new entrant can achieve is being competitive, particularly fighting for podiums and race wins. This would significantly increase fan engagement and also increase the value of the championship in the eyes of key revenue stream stakeholders such as broadcasters and race organizers.”

But on the question of likely competitiveness, Formula 1 expressed concern that the sport's regulations will change significantly in 2026, with new rules shaped by entirely new engines, and that “we don't believe there is a basis.” for the approval of a new applicant.” in 2025, as this would mean that a newcomer would build two completely different cars in the first two years of its existence.

“The fact that the applicant is proposing this gives us reason to doubt his understanding of the scale of the challenge involved.”

In addition to concerns about entering without full engine support from General Motors – which Formula 1 noted – even if this had been the case, “it is also a huge challenge to enter the sport as a new PU manufacturer, with the major car manufacturers “have faced problems in the past” – the sport said an 11th entry would “represent an operational burden on race organizers” and that they “could not have a material expected positive impact on CRH's financial results as a key indicator of pure commercial performance.” Value of “recognize the mastery”.

And despite the Andretti family's status as one of motorsport's most famous racing names, F1 expressed its belief that “while the Andretti name enjoys some recognition among F1 fans, our research suggests that F1 would add value to the Andretti brand.” and not the other way around.” “.

What had the existing teams, Andretti and the FIA ​​said so far?

Williams and Ferrari team principals James Vowles and Fred Vasseur shared their views on the addition of an 11th team to the F1 grid at the Qatar GP

The majority of existing F1 teams had publicly opposed expanding the grid for commercial reasons, arguing that Andretti would not bring enough value and revenue to the sport to make up for the loss of revenue as the prize pot would be split into 11 parts instead of 10 .

It is understood that the existing 10 Formula 1 teams played no role in the FOM's deliberations on the issue.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 at the US GP last October, Michael Andretti said: “It's a mystery to me in a way why they [the teams] push back.

Former racing driver Michael Andretti believed his team, Andretti Autosport, could bring more to Formula 1 as he wanted to enter the sport in 2025

“They say we're slicing the pie, but I think the point is that hopefully we're bringing in more than we're taking away, and we really believe that.”

“If you look at the fan support in all the polls that have been done, we think we are going to increase it, not take it away.”

Formula 1's decision not to admit Andretti for the 2025-2026 season, despite the FIA ​​giving them the green light, is likely to raise new questions about the current strength of the relationship between the sport and governing body Liberty Media, whose president is Mohammed Ben Sulayem opened the application process for the new team in early 2023 and publicly strongly supported Andretti's candidacy.

“We asked Cadillac and Andretti the right questions and when they came back to us there was no way we could resist them because the team ticked all the boxes. This is good for the sport,” Ben Sulayem told Sky Sports in October.

“I’m actually confident they’ll pull through.”

Sky Sports has contacted the FIA ​​for comment.

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