Andretti’s F1 bid rejected without GM

Andretti Formula Racing’s bid to enter the F1 Championship has been rejected due to failure to partner with a established power unit supplier.

Despite being successful after it’s first round in March last year, Andretti Racing’s application to enter the FIA Formula One World Championship has failed but could be successful in 2028 if the team partners with a General Motors (GM), as it hopes to do in the future for its power unit supply.

In a statement F1 concluded that Andretti Formula Racing’s attempt to build  ‘two completely different cars in its first two years of existence’ gives the FIA ‘reason to question their understanding of the scope of the challenge involved.’

F1 said ‘coming to the sport as a new (power unit) PU manufacturer is also a huge challenge, with which major automotive manufacturers have struggled in the past, and one which can take a manufacturer a number of years of significant investment in order to become competitive. GM have the resource and credibility to be more than capable of attempting this challenge, but success is not assured.

‘The need for any new team to take a compulsory power unit supply, potentially over a period of several seasons, would be damaging to the prestige and standing of the Championship.’

It continued: “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. In this case there would be additional factors to consider in respect of the value that the Applicant would bring to the Championship, in particular in respect of bringing a prestigious new OEM to the sport as a PU supplier.’

However, as the application stood F1 believed it ‘should not be successful’ as it did not believe Andretti ‘would not be a competitive participant’ or would ‘provide value to the Championship.’ The FIA research also indicated that ‘F1 would bring value to the Andretti brand rather than the other way around,’ and ‘the addition of an 11th team would place an operational burden on race promoters, would subject some of them to significant costs, and would reduce the technical, operational and commercial spaces of the other competitors.’

Despite not having the green light, Andretti had been working on its 2025 Cadillac F1 car, according to Autosport, which revealed its first wind tunnel model earlier today.