By Alan Baldwin
LONDON (Reuters) -Formula One great Mario Andretti said he was devastated by the rejection of a proposed Andretti Cadillac entry as an 11th team from 2025.
Liberty Media-owned Formula One ruled out the bid on Wednesday, doubting it would be competitive or add value, but kept a door open for 2028 when General Motors could provide an engine.
It also suggested — stingingly — in a statement that Andretti, led by Mario’s son and 1991 CART champion Michael, had more to gain from Formula One than the other way around.
“I’m devastated. I won’t say anything else because I can’t find any other words besides devastated,” 1978 F1 world champion and 1969 Indianapolis 500 winner Andretti, 83, posted on social media site X.
Those reacting to his comment included NASCAR Cup champion and team owner Brad Keselowski, who replied: “Sorry. This stinks”.
The governing FIA last year approved the application, sending it on to Liberty Media-owned Formula One Management (FOM) for discussions, and the outcome left the regulator once again at odds with the commercial rights holder.
Existing teams had opposed expansion, although they had no say in the matter, and argued it would reduce their value after spending billions on the sport as well as diluting the share of the revenues.
They also felt a so-called anti-dilution payment, set at $200 million and to be distributed among the existing 10, would have allowed Andretti entry on the cheap when some teams are valued at more than $1 billion.
FOM concluded in a detailed and emphatic statement setting out their reasoning that the application “should not be successful”.
“Our assessment process has established that the presence of an 11th team would not, on its own, provide value to the championship,” it explained.
“The most significant way in which a new entrant would bring value is by being competitive. We do not believe that the applicant would be a competitive participant.”
WORKS TEAM
Formula One said it would look differently on a future application “either as a GM works team or as a GM customer team designing all allowable components in-house”.
“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 (car maker) to the sport as a PU supplier.”
The sport said a 2025 entry would have involved “a novice entrant building two completely different cars in its first two years of existence”.
“The fact that the applicant proposes to do so gives us reason to question their understanding of the scope of the challenge involved,” Formula One added
The engine rules are changing significantly in 2026 and an Andretti entry would have relied on one of the existing manufacturers for several years.
General Motors has formally registered with the FIA to provide power units but only from 2028.
Formula One said the initial “dependency” on a compulsory supply led it to believe the proposed team, who have already recruited staff and built a wind-tunnel model, would not be competitive.
The statement said Formula One wrote to Andretti last month with an invitation to a face-to-face meeting in London but the offer had not been taken up.
“While the Andretti name carries some recognition for F1 fans, our research indicates that F1 would bring value to the Andretti brand rather than the other way around,” it added.
It also argued that an 11th team would place an operational burden on race promoters and add significantly to their costs.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Ed Osmond)
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