Formula One has rejected Andretti Global’s bid to join the premier motorsport series in 2025 or 2026, but said Wednesday it was prepared to reassess in 2028, once General Motors has developed a race-ready engine.
General Motors, through its Cadillac brand, had partnered with Michael Andretti to join F1 — a bid that was far from unanimous among the 10 existing teams and the series management.
The process began to falter when GM said in November that it had registered with F1’s umbrella organization to become an engine supplier from 2028. That left F1 stuck, because it would have been very difficult to turn its nose up at one of the world’s largest automakers, especially an American company, as the series begins to gain traction in the United States.
The FIA said last July that it had approved Andretti’s bid to add two cars to the grid, but F1 took more than six months to complete its analysis of the case. The FIA had given F1 until Wednesday to announce its decision.
“Our analysis process determined that the presence of an 11th team would not, in and of itself, enhance the value of our championship,” F1 said in a statement. “While the Andretti name resonates with F1 fans, our research indicates that F1 would enhance the value of the Andretti brand, rather than the opposite.”
F1 reportedly wants to welcome Andretti only when General Motors is ready to supply an engine for the competition. If Andretti had received approval from the series to join the grid, it would have had to rely on another engine supplier to power its cars until 2028.
“The best way for a new team to add value to our championship would be to be competitive. We believe that the candidate would not be competitive,” F1 added. “The fact that a new team would have to enter into an agreement with an engine supplier already involved [in F1], possibly for several seasons, would damage the prestige and reputation of the championship.”
GM has already begun developing and testing a prototype, and the American manufacturer has stressed that the efforts to develop an F1 engine will serve to improve its electric, hybrid, green fuel and internal combustion engine efficiency technologies, as well as its control parameters and computer systems.
F1 has adopted new engine rules for 2026, which will focus on green fuels and electrification. Six manufacturers have reached an agreement with the FIA to supply it with next-generation engines from 2026, except for newcomer Audi, which will partner with Sauber. Ford is also planning a return to F1 with three-time world champion Red Bull. Honda also plans to become an official supplier from 2026.
Andretti was the only one of its contenders to meet all of the FIA’s criteria to expand the grid from 10 to 11 teams, and with his car already built, he was hoping to compete in the championship as early as 2025. F1 ended those hopes on Wednesday, although the saga could now end up in court despite F1 indicating it was prepared to reassess Andretti’s bid in 2028.
