Failed Andretti F1 Bid Likely to Change the Way Formula 1, FIA Do Business

• Formula 1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali says that the process for adding an 11th team to the F1 grid is in need of an overhaul.

• The recent rejection of the Andretti Global bid had the feeling of the goalpost moving as the application process went along.

• The next time the process will likely be able to be clarified will come with the new Concorde Agreement, which will come into play before the 2026 season.

There may be a bit of a silver lining to the failed bid by Michael Andretti and his Andretti Global operation—at least in terms with how Formula 1 and the FIA handle applications from teams wanting to join the series going forward.

Formula 1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali says that while the process was handled correctly in terms of how the series used the current Concorde Agreement to ultimately rule against the Andretti bid, that process is in need of an overhaul.

Domenicali added that the current Concorde Agreement—the bylaws by which F1 is governed—addresses the process for the addition of an 11th team. But when it came to actual implementation, that process seemed flawed at best, as the Andretti group said that they felt the goalpost or criteria for acceptance kept changing throughout the process.

In the final rejection notification that came out on Jan. 31, Formula One Management ruled, among other things, that the Andretti bid would not add value to F1 because it would not be bringing its own engine manufacturer and it would not be a competitive entry capable of competing for podiums.

Andretti planned to lease engines from a current F1 engine supplier—rumored to be Renault—until Cadillac planned to bring its own power plant into the series for Andretti in 2028.

The idea that Andretti needed to have its own engine manufacturer on board at the time of entry into the sport and somehow prove that it would be a competitive was apparently not made clear to Michael Andretti when he was raising the reported $200 million entry fee Andretti Global needed to bring to the table.

The goalpost sure seemed to move as the process went along.

“So I think that with regard to what has happened (with Andretti Cadillac), I think that the process has been followed, and we presented the result in the right way," Domenicali said. "For the future it's a matter of discussion, of course, with the teams, with the right commercial and technical proposition that will be discussed accordingly, within this year."

The current Concorde Agreement expires after the 2025 season. The new will likely spell out more clearly the requirements for adding an 11th team to the grid.

Andretti has been invited to re-apply for admission for the 2028 season—the season that Cadillac says it would have an F1 engine ready. Andretti and partner Cadillac say they are still weighing their options.

"We expect to address the renewal of the Concorde Agreement with the teams very, very shortly,” Domenicai said. “Our view that is basically shared with the teams is that basically the Concorde Agreement will need will not need any substantial changes this time around."

However, do expect some changes, or at the very least clarifications, in the way the FIA and FOM deals with new teams wanting to enter the series.

“For sure it's a point related to the Concorde Agreement,” said Domenicali. “It's a point of a joint work that has to be done between the FIA and FOM in regard to the different kinds of evaluation that we need to do."