Formula 1 rejecting Andretti bid is an absurd slap to a winner's face

Formula 1 just rejected Andretti Formula Racing’s application to participate in the 2025 FIA Formula One World Championship.

Yep, that really just happened, and the statement from Formula 1 about why it’s doing so is scathing, insulting, brutal and just flat-out contradictory in some ways. Speaking as a longtime fan of F1 and racing in general, it’s a gobsmacking paper to read. And it’s also a slap in the face to the millions of new fans the sport’s recently picked up in America. One of the most renowned names and faces in motorsport history, Andretti, apparently isn’t good enough for F1.

Before getting too far into the weeds, though, we’ll note at the top that Formula 1 has left the door open for an Andretti entry in 2028. Why? That’s when General Motors/Cadillac is planning on entering the equation as a power unit supplier for the potential Andretti team. Of course, there’s no guarantee that Formula 1 would approve an Andretti-Cadillac entry when the time comes, but it does suggest that such an entry would be looked at more favorably than what Andretti’s put forth now.

With that out of the way, let’s go through and analyze the reasons for why Andretti is being rejected today.

Formula 1 doesn’t believe that the addition of an 11th team would add value and says, “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.”

Now that’s insulting. Formula 1 is an extremely difficult sport to compete in, but to suggest Andretti is incapable of success or even competitiveness just sounds naive. Hell, Formula 1 should take a look at its current 20-car grid and start lopping off other teams, because we could name a number of them that have been extremely uncompetitive over the past number of years. Not as though it should sway the deal, but the Andretti name has more F1 World Championships (Mario Andretti won it in 1978) than some teams on the grid today. Not to mention, Andretti’s had massive success in other racing series.

On the counter, Formula 1 does have a point when you take a step back and look at the regulations schedule over the next several years. By entering in 2025, Andretti would need to design a car for today’s regulations and then design an entirely different car for the following 2026 season. Andretti has claimed it can do that, but F1 isn’t so sure. And, admittedly, it does sound a little silly on the face of it to invest so heavily in one car for one set of regulations only to rip it all up and start from scratch just one year later. But again, if Formula 1 is concerned about the competitiveness of the car, I’ll point out once more that there will undoubtedly be other teams well off the pace in the 2025 season. Plus, Andretti could learn a lot in 2025 and apply those learnings and experiences to come out in 2026 as an even more competitive team with the new regulations.