31/01/2024
NEWS STORY
Formula 1 has officially rejected Andretti's bid to enter the sport in 2025 or 2026, but leaves the door open for a potential entry in 2028.
"Our assessment process has established that the presence of an 11th team would not, on its own, provide value to the championship," said the sport's commercial rights holder in its official statement. "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.
"The addition of an 11th team would place an operational burden on race promoters," the statement continued, "it would subject some of them to significant costs, and would reduce the technical, operational and commercial spaces of the other competitors.
"We were not able to identify any material expected positive effect on CRH financial results, as a key indicator of the pure commercial value of the Championship."
Another reason for the rejection, which isn't deemed worthy of a mention on the sport's official website, is the fact that an additional team at this stage would put stress on the current engine suppliers who would be called upon to supply Andretti over the next two years.
However...
"We would look differently on an application for the entry of a team into the 2028 Championship with a GM power unit, either as a GM works team or as a GM customer team designing all allowable components in-house," the statement added.
"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 to the sport as a PU supplier."