Over the years, Andretti Global has seen a good amount of recognition and success across the United States. Their name runs cars in IndyCar, Formula E, Extreme E, Most of their success and recognition has come from the IndyCar series. In the past few years, the team’s CEO, Michael Andretti is looking to take the team to Formula 1.
Last year, Andretti Global submitted 2 bids to enter the sport in 2025 and the other in 2016. The FIA reviewed the bid and approved the American team’s bid. However, after review, Formula 1 decided to reject the team. But why was this bid rejected by the FOM (Formula One Management)?
Why was Andretti Global’s bid to enter F1 rejected?
Entering Formula 1 as a 11th team is not as simple as it sounds. This is because the revenue that is generated throughout the F1 season is shared among F1, the FIA, and the F1 teams. So if a 11th team is to join the sport, the revenue that is shared among the teams would be reduced. For this reason, F1 has set a large entry fee for new entrants. This is meant to cover the loss faced by the other teams. However, there is still a few issues with this.
Although the entry fee will cover for the team’s losses for a couple of seasons, the existing teams will still face a loss in the long run. For this reason, Formula 1 requires the team to add value to the sport. Their logic is simple, if a team is not able to help the sport increase its revenue, it will not make sense adding them as a 11th team.
Our work continues at pace. https://t.co/shTbrCUZyD
— Michael Andretti (@michaelandretti) April 10, 2024
In the case of Andretti, F1 did not think that Andretti would be able to add value to the sport if they entered in 2026. In order for the team to add value, they will have to be successful. F1 felt that Andretti Global did not understand the complexity that goes in to build a strong Formula 1 car. Hence, they could end up being a team at the bottom of the standings. This will not generate a large fanbase for them. Hence, their bid was rejected.
But all hope is not lost yet for Andretti. They continue to target their entry into the sport in 2026. They will be having a meeting with F1 during the weekend of the Miami Grand Prix to plead their case. If approved, we could see their car on the grid in 2026.
Rohit Kumar 
Sara Chavan