BREAKING: Formula 1 Rejects Michael Andretti’s Bid to Join F1 Grid

Formula 1 has rejected the proposed team bid submitted by Andretti Formula Racing, opting to keep the grid at 10 teams.

Andretti has striven to enter Formula 1 across the past few years and in October 2023 received approval from governing body the FIA.

The final step involved Andretti undertaking discussions with Formula 1.

But on Wednesday, Formula 1 announced in a statement that Andretti’s project had not been approved.

It left the door open for Andretti to re-submit its bid, for 2028, if it can find a greater alignment with General Motors.

The path to This Stage

Andretti attempted to enter Formula 1 through a takeover of Sauber in 2021 but the proposed deal collapsed amid control issues.

In early 2022 Andretti announced its intention to enter Formula 1 as a new entrant, to be based out of its expanding facility at Fishers, Indiana, with a satellite base in the United Kingdom.

At the start of 2023 the FIA announced an expression of interest for new teams and Andretti submitted its bid, bolstered by a partnership with General Motors through its Cadillac brand.

Behind-the-scenes Andretti began working – to be ready as early as 2025 – with personnel recruited at its base at Silverstone, most prominently technical chief Nick Chester, chief designer John McQuilliam, and head of aero Jon Tomlinson, all of whom have extensive experience with Formula 1 teams. It has also utilized Toyota’s renowned windtunnel in Cologne while work has been undertaken at GM’s facility in Charlotte, too.

In October the FIA announced that of the four team bids only Andretti’s passed the submission criteria, meaning the process was solely in the hands of Formula 1’s commercial rights holder Liberty Media.

The following month General Motors announced that it had registered as a power unit manufacturer with the FIA, effective 2028.