Update 1/31/2024: This article has been updated with statements from Andretti Cadillac and Mario Andretti.
Formula 1 on Wednesday announced it has rejected Andretti Global's bid to enter the sport.
"On the basis of the application as it stands, we do not believe that the Applicant has shown that it would add value to the Championship," the statement reads. "We conclude that the Applicant’s application to participate in the Championship should not be successful."
The news comes just three months after Andretti's team, Andretti Cadillac, had been given the green light by the FIA to enter Formula 1 following a seven-month analysis.
"We were not able to identify any material expected positive effect on CRH (Commercial Rights Holder) financial results, as a key indicator of the pure commercial value of the Championship," the statement says.
The announcement comes after Formula One Management (FOM)'s own analysis of a proposed 11th team on the grid. It discovered that not only would Andretti have a negative effect on financials, but that it would also put more pressure on promoters and other teams.
"The addition of an 11th team would place an operational burden on race promoters, would subject some of them to significant costs, and would reduce the technical, operational and commercial spaces of the other competitors," the statement reads.
Despite the lack of approval from FOM, Andretti had been working on development for a racing debut in 2025, going as far as to release a photo of a wind tunnel model on Tuesday (shown above).
In a statement published by motorsports reporter Marshall Pruett to X (formerly Twitter), Andretti Cadillac team says it "strongly disagrees" with the FOM's decisions, and that it will continue development work on its car and power unit.
ANDRETTI CADILLAC RESPONSE TO FORMULA ONE MANAGEMENT STATEMENT
— Marshall Pruett (@marshallpruett) January 31, 2024
Andretti Cadillac has reviewed the information Formula One Management Limited has shared and strongly disagree with its contents. Andretti and Cadillac are two successful global motorsports organizations committed to…
Mario Andretti, F1 champion, Indy 500 winner, and father of Andretti Global CEO Michael Andretti, took to X to express his disappointment in regards to FOM's decision:
I'm devastated. I won't say anything else because I can't find any other words besides devastated. pic.twitter.com/UaFBC5n9qF
— Mario Andretti (@MarioAndretti) January 31, 2024
Formula 1's statement makes it clear there's still hope for Andretti's F1 bid, suggesting an entry for the 2028 season is still on the table.
"We would look differently on an application for the entry of a team into the 2028 Championship with a GM power unit, either as a GM works team or as a GM customer team designing all allowable components in-house," the statement reads.
Should Andretti's entry have been approved, the team would've had to buy power units from an existing manufacturer already on the grid for its first few years of competition — something those manufacturers weren't necessarily happy with. Essentially, Formula 1 wants Andretti get its power unit supply situation sorted with General Motors first before coming into the sport.
"In this case there would be additional factors to consider in respect of the value that the Applicant would bring to the Championship, in particular in respect of bringing a prestigious new OEM to the sport as a power unit supplier."
