Potential 11th Team Officially Rejected By Formula 1

Thursday, 01 February 2024 at 01:00

Updated at Friday, 02 February 2024 at 06:57

Formula 1 officially rejected Michael Andretti's bid to join the sport as the 11th team on the grid from 2026 onwards.

Andretti's bid to join Formula 1 for seasons 2025 or 2026 was first approved by FIA (F1's governing body) a few months ago.

FIA concluded its rigorous evaluation process and assessed that Andretti's F1 team was fit to be part of F1 as soon as the 2025 season. However, the bid to enter Formula 1 still needed to be approved by F1's stakeholders.

In the end, the commercial rights holders F1 felt like Andretti's proposal for entry in 2025 or 2026 was lacking in a few aspects. The statement from F1 read:

"Our assessment process has established that the presence of an 11th team would not, on its own, provide value to the Championship."

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Many F1 teams disapproved of Andretti's entry into the sport, and one of the most common complaints was that the American team would not be able to provide value to the Championship.

The most significant way in which a new entrant would bring value is by being competitive. We do not believe that the applicant would be a competitive participant.

In 2025, current regulations will be already four years old, and Andretti would probably not be able to match the pace of the teams that have operated within them for quite a while.

On the other hand, in 2026, F1 enters a completely new set of regulations 2026, and the proposal to enter F1 in that year has been rejected as well. Formula 1 stated;

"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."

Andretti's new team would have to supply engines for their cars which would again make the team less competitive. However, the door is still left open for the team to join in 2028.

Cadillac has been registered to the list of power unit manufacturers starting from the season 2028. The brand that has been backing Andretti's entry would, therefore, be able to exclusively supply his team with power units. Under such circumstances, F1 might reconsider its current decision.