Formula 1 bosses have rejected plans by Andretti Autosport, backed by General Motors (GM), to enter the sport in 2025 – but have left it as a possibility for the 2028 season.
Racing giant Andretti Autosport, which runs teams in Indycar and Formula E among other categories, had announced a bid to enter F1 in a partnership with GM’s Cadillac brand last year. The Andretti Cadillac squad wanted to enter the sport in 2025 using customer power units while GM developed the capability to build its own units.
Those plans were approved by the FIA, world motorsport’s governing body, late last year, but they also required the backing of Formula 1 owner Liberty Media, which controls the commercial rights to the championship.
F1 chiefs have released a lengthy statement outlining why they do not believe Andretti Cadillac justifies a spot on the grid from 2025. They say their finding were based on the likely competitiveness of the entry, its commercial and logistical impact and its future power unit supply arrangements.
The statement noted that “the presence of an 11th team would not, in and of itself, provide value to the championship”. It noted that the most significant way for a new entrant to add value was by being competitive but added “most of the attempts to establish a new constructor in the last several decades have not been successful”.
The statement also said: “While the Andretti name carries some recognition for F1 fans, our research indicates that F1 would bring value to the Andretti brand rather than the other way around.”
F1 chiefs did note that having GM provide power units would add commercial value, but also highlighted that this was offset by Andretti’s plans to use customer engines while GM ramped up its programme, and that a new powertrain constructor would face a steep challenge to be competitive – especially with a new technical package due to be introduced in 2026.
The statement highlighted challenges and extra costs an 11th team could cause for race promoters and concluded that the bid “would not add value to the championship” and therefore “should not be successful”.
Despite that blow, F1 chiefs did not close the door entirely on Andretti Cadillac – suggesting it could revisit ahead of the 2028 season. The statement said: “We would look differently on an application for the entry of a team into the 2028 Championship with a GM power unit, either as a GM works team or as a GM customer team designing all allowable components in-house.”
How Andretti gained FIA backing
While the Andretti bid has been rejected by F1 bosses, it has previously been approved by the FIA, which has long been keen to expand the grid of the top-flight category.
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There is such a thing as too much, having more teams or teams from actual road car brands isn't going to entice people to watch F1. Racing cars like F1 and BTCC for example are silhouette cars, underneath bares no resemblance to a car we drive,so sticking a recognised car brand on it isn't great, great for Global media and other backers, not a lot for the fans.