Andretti has been lobbying the FIA, the governing body for F1, to expand the 20-car grid and join the series after a failed 2021 attempt to purchase Sauber. His petition to expand the grid has been met by fierce resistance from existing F1 teams who have argued an 11th team will dramatically dilute their revenues.
Andretti has continued to move forward with his desire — he's got financial backing to buy into F1, a deep-pocketed sponsor in Gainbridge, a new shop being built in
On Monday, FIA president
The team would be centered around driver
“We definitely have a plan to have an American driver. I think you all know who is leading the pack on that one," Andretti said. "Colton we have under contract right now in IndyCar. We want to make this an all-American effort to make sure we have an American driver in the seat.”
Andretti said in Thursday's announcement — the culmination of four months of negotiations with
“One of the big things was ‘What does Andretti bring to the party?’” Andretti said. “Well, we're bringing one of the biggest manufacturers in the world with us now with
“Today is the first step in what we hope to be the historic entry of
F1 immediately responded to the Andretti-GM partnership in the same tone it has since Andretti began pushing for expansion — by noting that it has several parties interested in joining the series and Andretti is simply the most visible. Andretti's father,
“There is great interest in the F1 project at this time with a number of conversations continuing that are not as visible as others,” F1 said in a statement. “We all want to ensure the championship remains credible and stable and any new entrant request will be assessed on criteria to meet those objectives by the relevant stakeholders. Any new entrant request requires the agreement of both F1 and the FIA.”
F1 said no new teams could be added to the grid prior to the 2026 season.
Andretti said despite F1's statement, he still believes Andretti Global is the strongest applicant. He admitted F1 has not shared with him the other interested parties.
“One-thousand percent, I believe (we can get a team)," Andretti said. "I believe we check every box that needs to be checked in order to enter F1. I think we’re definitely ahead of our competition to get there. I feel very, very confident that we’ll be on the grid soon.”
Andretti had previously been linked to an engine partnership with Alpine. The Alpine CEO
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