In what turned out to be the second-most spectacular news regarding Formula One in the span of 24 hours after Lewis Hamilton's apparent move to Ferrari in 2025, it has emerged that the Andretti bid to field an F1 team in 2025 has been rejected for good. An unpopular decision, it seems - what does the RaceDepartment community think?
Image credit: Cadillac Pressroom
One of the biggest names in racing, backing by an automotive giant in General Motors - Michael Andretti's bid to join F1 seemed extremely promising. However, the Andretti-Cadillac project almost immediately faced adversity.
It took the established F1 world what seemed like two seconds to adopt a very unwelcoming stance towards the potential new team. 22 cars would be too many and dangerous. Another team would dilute the championship. Despite this, Andretti and GM pressed on and hoped to field their own team in 2025.
While the FIA itself approved the bid of the potential new US team, Formula One Management did not. FOM takes care of the commercial side of F1 - and this hurdle could not be cleared by Andretti. The key part of the rejection statement read as follows:
Sim racers who hoped to have Andretti cars on the virtual grid in the official F1 game series can still do so, though. Thanks to the efforts of the RD community, multiple MyTeam packs can be found in the download section for F1 23. Additionally, the 2026 Overhaul Mod by @ManifoldWasHere also includes an Andretti entry.
The rejection does seem weird, too. In recent years, F1 has finally managed what it never really could before - gain traction in the USA. So much so, in fact, that there are now three US races on the calendar. A true US team could certainly have helped drawing in even more fans, especially with the Andretti name attached.
Of course, Haas is technically an American team as well, but they also have a UK base and cooperation with Ferrari, giving the team a more European flair as a result. One could also argue that Haas is also not doing much in terms of competitiveness to add to F1's value...
The Andrettis have quite some F1 history as well, going back to the 1960s. In fact, legendary Mario Andretti made his F1 debut in 1968, and ten years later, he became the World Champion with Lotus. Mario also raced for Ferrari, March, Parnelli Jones Racing, Alfa Romeo and Williams in F1.
His son Michael did not enjoy a successful F1 career, joining McLaren in 1993 after having been one of the top dogs in the IndyCar series for years at that point. He could not get comfortable in F1, though, and parted ways with the team after the Italian Grand Prix.
Despite this and Michael operating an internationally-renowned racing team in IndyCar, Formula E and numerous other series, the Andretti name will not return to F1. At least not until 2028 - according to the FOM statement, the doors would be open for a new application then.
We want to know: Do you agree with the FOM decision? Are you on Andretti's side in this case? And what are your reasons? Let us know your opinion in the poll above and your reasons in the comments below!
Image credit: Cadillac Pressroom
One of the biggest names in racing, backing by an automotive giant in General Motors - Michael Andretti's bid to join F1 seemed extremely promising. However, the Andretti-Cadillac project almost immediately faced adversity.
It took the established F1 world what seemed like two seconds to adopt a very unwelcoming stance towards the potential new team. 22 cars would be too many and dangerous. Another team would dilute the championship. Despite this, Andretti and GM pressed on and hoped to field their own team in 2025.
While the FIA itself approved the bid of the potential new US team, Formula One Management did not. FOM takes care of the commercial side of F1 - and this hurdle could not be cleared by Andretti. The key part of the rejection statement read as follows:
Sim racers who hoped to have Andretti cars on the virtual grid in the official F1 game series can still do so, though. Thanks to the efforts of the RD community, multiple MyTeam packs can be found in the download section for F1 23. Additionally, the 2026 Overhaul Mod by @ManifoldWasHere also includes an Andretti entry.
Andretti & Cadillac Strongly Disagree
Of course, Andretti and Cadillac were quick to issue a statement of their own, expressing their strong disagreement with the assessment of FOM. In general, the racing community looks to be on Andretti's side, criticizing F1's country club attitude in the matter.The rejection does seem weird, too. In recent years, F1 has finally managed what it never really could before - gain traction in the USA. So much so, in fact, that there are now three US races on the calendar. A true US team could certainly have helped drawing in even more fans, especially with the Andretti name attached.
Of course, Haas is technically an American team as well, but they also have a UK base and cooperation with Ferrari, giving the team a more European flair as a result. One could also argue that Haas is also not doing much in terms of competitiveness to add to F1's value...
The Andrettis have quite some F1 history as well, going back to the 1960s. In fact, legendary Mario Andretti made his F1 debut in 1968, and ten years later, he became the World Champion with Lotus. Mario also raced for Ferrari, March, Parnelli Jones Racing, Alfa Romeo and Williams in F1.
His son Michael did not enjoy a successful F1 career, joining McLaren in 1993 after having been one of the top dogs in the IndyCar series for years at that point. He could not get comfortable in F1, though, and parted ways with the team after the Italian Grand Prix.
New Bid in 2028?
Nevertheless, the Andrettis are a household name in the US and many other countries to this day. The family also raced in sports cars, with Mario scoring a class win in the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans, NASCAR and, of course, IndyCar. In 1969, Mario won the Indianapolis 500 - and despite both son Michael and grandson Marco getting extremely close to repeating the feat since, it remains the only Andretti win at the Brickyard as of early 2024.Despite this and Michael operating an internationally-renowned racing team in IndyCar, Formula E and numerous other series, the Andretti name will not return to F1. At least not until 2028 - according to the FOM statement, the doors would be open for a new application then.
We want to know: Do you agree with the FOM decision? Are you on Andretti's side in this case? And what are your reasons? Let us know your opinion in the poll above and your reasons in the comments below!
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