US outfit Andretti had one final hurdle to clear before they had themselves a slot on the Formula 1 grid at some point within the next two years. Unfortunately, they’ve toppled into it, with confirmation from F1 that it will not allow Andretti onto the grid – for now, at least.
The Andretti team has been very vocal about its desire to join Formula 1 for some time now. An application was first filed in early 2022 by team owner Michael Andretti, the son of 1978 F1 champion Mario Andretti and himself an F1 podium-sitter, with a view to joining the grid in ‘25 or ’26. Since then, the team has been building support from various channels. It announced a partnership with Cadillac, first on a sponsorship level with an aim of having the American manufacturer build its engines by 2028.
Andretti had Cadillac on board as a title partner, with intentions to…
In October last year, they were the only team to get through the FIA’s rigorous approval process for potential new entries to the sport, which meant the final step was getting approval from the sport’s owners and commercial rights holders, Liberty Media. It’s at this final stage that things have come to a grinding halt.
In its statement, Formula 1 cites several factors, hinged around a belief that “the presence of an 11th team, on its own, would not add value” to the sport and that Andretti “would [not] be a competitive participant.”
F1 also mentions concerns around operational and financial strains on race promoters (in other words, the circuits that host the races) of an 11th team. It goes on to claim that a new entrant without an engine manufacturer locked in from the beginning would force one of the existing suppliers to provide customer engines, something it says would be “damaging to the prestige and standing of the championship.”
One thing F1 is clear about is that its decision “did not involve any consultation with the current F1 teams.” However, multiple team bosses, including Mercedes’ Toto Wolff and Red Bull’s Christian Horner, have vocally opposed Andretti’s application on the basis that an 11th team would likely dilute prize money pools available to the existing teams.
Andretti already successfully competes in several motorsports, including…
It’s a blow for an experienced team which currently races in IndyCar and its Indy NXT feeder series, Formula E and Extreme E, and fields joint entries in the North American IMSA and Australian Supercars series. It also appears a strange decision from the sport’s commercial rights holders when F1 is trying to establish an ever-firmer foothold in the US market, where it currently holds three races and is potentially exploring adding a fourth.
There may be some light at the end of the (wind) tunnel for Andretti, however: F1 says it would be more receptive to them joining the grid in 2028 with a General Motors power unit. Cadillac had better get to work on that engine, then.
