F1 | The excluded Andretti replies: “We were already aiming for 2026!”

On Wednesday, F1 officially rejected the request presented by Andretti regarding a possible entry on the grid in the next two seasons, drawing up a long series of reasons to justify the refusal.

A decision that came after Andretti had overcome the first obstacle last October, that of the FIA, which had accepted the request at the end of a rigorous evaluation process based on sporting, technical, financial and environmental sustainability criteria. The Federation has always shown itself to be open to the idea of ​​expanding the grid, but on the other hand Liberty Media, holder of the commercial rights of the championship, has often shown a certain reluctance towards an eleventh team, arguing that it would have to guarantee a value added to the world championship.

This is one of the crucial points of the issue because, according to the leaders of the category, the entry of Andretti in the current conditions would not have guaranteed something more to the series from a competitive point of view.

Liberty Media's fear is that once on the track, the American team will not be fast enough, thus occupying the last rows of the grid. At the basis of these reasonings are multiple elements, including the fact that the team would not have been able to count on the direct support of GM for the first three years, having instead to rely on a Power Unit supply agreement with Renault.

Another element concerns the consideration that the 2025 objective set by Andretti represented a bit more than we can chew, thus having to first build a car based on the current technical cycle, and then having to start again from scratch in view of the transition to the new regulations which will debut in 2026. In the note, Formula 1 underlined how the team was not ready for a technical challenge of this magnitude, having never had to tackle such large and complex projects.

Even in the days preceding the announcement of Formula 1, Andretti had always hinted that it was ready to debut in 2025 if the timing allowed it, so much so that it had a first model in the wind tunnel and an expansion plan which included the hiring new staff. Taking to the track with only twelve months' notice would have presented the US team with a rather complicated challenge, something he was aware of.

In fact, in response to the note from Formula 1 on Wednesday, Andretti confirmed that it had indeed indicated an entry in 2025 as a preference, but that it was already ready to shift the focus to 2026 given the length of the registration process.

Andretti would have debuted as a Renault customer while waiting for GM to create its own Power Unit for 2028

Photo by: Andretti Autosport

“When Andretti Cadillac entered the FIA ​​expression of interest process nearly a year ago, the first preferred year of participation was listed as 2025. The FIA ​​approved our request, without any specific limitations on participation in 2025 or 2026,” Andretti explained in a response note to Formula 1.

“Andretti Cadillac has been operating for many months with 2026 as the year of participation. The fact that 2025 is still part of the application is due to the length of the process.”

It should not be forgotten, in fact, that the deadline for registration had been set for mid-May 2023 and that, at least initially, the FIA ​​had indicated that a response would arrive by the end of June. However, the times have taken longer, both on the part of the Federation and of Formula 1, which is why in the meantime the American team has also begun to review its plans.

Working on the 2025 car would still have represented an opportunity for the engineers to become familiar with the tools available, such as the wind tunnel and CFD, as well as delving into some aerodynamic concepts. As regards the next regulatory cycle, teams are in fact prohibited from working on new generation single-seaters until 1 January 2025.

Michael Andretti, Autosport

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz

Another point disputed by Formula 1 is the fact that Andretti allegedly refused a meeting scheduled for last December with the category's top management to explore some issues relating to the entry request. However, the American team explained that it was not aware of the invitation: for this reason Andretti hopes to be able to meet Liberty Media again, confirming its interest in participating in the coming years.

“We were not aware of the offer of a meeting and would not have refused a meeting with Formula 1 management,” the statement read.

“An in-person meeting to discuss business matters would be and remains of primary importance to Andretti Cadillac. We welcome the opportunity to meet with Formula One management and have written to them confirming our interest.”

Although Formula 1 has Andretti's entry at least until 2028, in reality the team reiterated that it is still working for the next few years: “Our work continues at a rapid pace”.