Formula One rejects Andretti's bid to become 11th team in 2025 or 2026

In a lengthy statement, the representatives for Formula One revealed that they “do not believe that the applicant would be a competitive participant”

Formula One has rejected Andretti Global's bid to join the global racing series as the 11th team in 2025 or 2026. On Wednesday, the agency announced its decision to deny Andretti's team entry into the F1 race. In a lengthy statement, the representatives for Formula One revealed that they “do not believe that the applicant would be a competitive participant,” per Sky Sports.

DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA - JANUARY 27: The #45 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 of Kyle Marcelli, Danny Formal, Graham Doyle and Ashton Harrison drives during the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway on January 27, 2024 in Daytona Beach, Florida. James Gilbert/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by James Gilbert / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP) (Getty Images via AFP)

Andretti's bid to join Formula One by 2026 tossed away

The bid was headed by former McLaren driver Michael Andretti and his father Mario, who was the 1978 world champion. The now-rejected bid was later passed down to FOM after its first application passed the initial stages of the process in October last year. Despite being approved from a technical perspective, Formula One rejected Andretti and Cadillac's joint bid to enter the championship by 2025 or 2026.

“We do not believe that there is a basis for any new applicant to be admitted in 2025 given that this would involve a novice entrant building two completely different cars in its first two years of existence,” F1 said in a statement. “The fact that the Applicant proposes to do so gives us reason to question their understanding of the scope of the challenge involved.”

The statement goes on to add, “Formula 1, as the pinnacle of world motorsport, represents a unique technical challenge to constructors of a nature that the Applicant has not faced in any other formula or discipline in which it has previously competed. On this basis, we do not believe that the Applicant would be a competitive participant.”

“The need for any new team to take a compulsory power unit supply, potentially over a period of several seasons, would be damaging to the prestige and standing of the Championship,” the statement adds. “The door to entry has, however, been left open for 2028 by F1 on the proviso that General Motors, the American car giant whose Cadillac brand had been backing Andretti's entry, joined the bid as a full works team or customer team.”