Source: Bradley Collyer – PA Images / Getty
INDIANAPOLIS — The news seemed hopeful a few months ago when Andretti Global’s bid to form an 11th Formula One team was approved by the series’ governing body (FIA). Still, the series had decided to deny Andretti’s bid for the time being.
In an assessment released by the series on Wednesday, Formula One officials told Andretti Global that the series will not consider expansion to an 11th team until at least 2028.
By 2028, the series said that it could “consider differently” if the bid were to be brought up again.
Formula One laid out several reasons as to why they have decided to reject the bid.
“Our assessment process has established that the presence of an 11th team would not, on its own, provide value to the Championship,” F1’s report said. “The most significant way in which a new entrant would bring value is by being competitive. We do not believe the Applicant (Andretti Global) would be a competitive participant.”
Formula One also acknowledged that the Andretti name carries recognition for F1 fans, the ultimately argued that the F1 would bring notoriety to the Andretti Global brand and not the other way around.
Finally, F1 said an 11th, at the present time, would “place an operational burden on race promoters.”
During the process of getting FIA approval last year Andretti Global entered into a partnership with General Motors to be an engine supplier for the team under the Cadillac brand. The team has also been hiring lots of former Reb Bull and Mercedes staffers as it looks to build its F1 profile.
Andretti Global currently competes in several national and international racing series’ including IndyCar, IMSA SportsCars, and the FIA Formula E Series.
The rejection is puzzling, to say the least, given Formula One’s desire to add a “competitive team to the paddock, especially given that the Formula One World Championship was decided with the same driver winning 19 of the 22 races contested in the 2023 calendar.
Max Verstappen led his Red Bull F1 Team to the driver’s championship nearly a month before the season was due to end. The constructor’s championship was also locked up by Red Bull in about that same time.
Furthermore, Formula One has been insistent upon a heavy presence in the American marketplace with it’s recent expansion of the racing season to include not one, but three races on American soil: The US Grand Prix at COTA, the Miami Grand Prix, and the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
There is only one American-based team in the F1 paddock at the moment. The Haas F1 Team, supported by Ferrarri, was 10th (last) in the constructor’s championship in 2023.
For now, all Andretti Global can do is sit and wait, and hope the opportunity arises again that they may get another shot at Formula One.
