Did F1 Team Principals Play Spoilsport in Andretti’s Rejection from F1?

For a few years now, Andretti Autosport has been relentlessly chasing the F1 bone. However, as of 31st January 2024, they faced a massive setback. The American racing giants, after getting approval from the FIA, were rejected entry into the circus for the 2025 or 2026 seasons by Formula One Management (FOM). This news has come as a shock to Andretti. According to them, they had done everything in their power, including getting a powerful automotive manufacturer like General Motors on board.

However, FOM explained its reasoning in a detailed open statement explaining the decision to reject the combined efforts of the Andretti-Cadillac team. The statement in essence pointed out how Formula 1 will still benefit the Andretti Cadillac brand more instead of it being the other way round which was the sport’s primary requirement. Andretti failed to justify the value added with an already-established American team on the grid. The statement also highlighted the Andrettis are overestimating their preparedness for the circus in the coming years but left the door open to try again in 2028.

The Andretti team was upset with the decision and issued a statement expressing their disapproval. The statement read, “Andretti Cadillac has reviewed the information Formula One Management Limited has shared and strongly disagree with its contents.” Further in the statement, they also highlighted how the team believes they would be competitive against the world’s best in F1 opposing FOM’s assessment.

However, is there a possibility the team bosses could’ve played a part in this decision, especially the bosses of the top three teams and also the boss of the only US-based team? First, let’s review their stance on Andretti’s bid to enter the sport.

The team boss’s stance on Andretti’s bid to join F1

Almost the entire grid was against an 11th team. The motivation to oppose the idea for all bosses was unified on the financial front. However, the bosses also had some additional inputs apart from the prize money dilution. Let’s take the individual perceptions into account starting from Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.

Toto Wolff

Toto Wolff was one of the first to point out how Andretti would just be diluting the value for all the teams instead of contributing, at least in the first few years. His reasoning was based on value-added vs value-lost to the sport. With the inclusion of an 11th team and him being a stakeholder in Mercedes, it would’ve been a personal loss.

He said, “I think that whoever joins as the 11th team, whoever gets an entry, needs to demonstrate how creative they can be for the business. Andretti is a great name, and I think they have done exceptional things in the US. But this is sport, and this is business and we need to understand what is it that you can provide to the sport.”

The second on the list is Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur who followed in Wolff’s footsteps.

Frederic Vasseur

However, apart from the financial aspect, Frederic Vasseur also pointed out that bringing Andretti to the grid won’t help in indulging the American audience more. The Frenchman pointed out that a nation clings to the drivers more than a team and believes if the sport wants to attract more American fans; they need a driver the fans can get behind.

He suggested, “We talked about the provenance of the team, but for me, it is not the right approach to the matter. F1 is successful where there are winning drivers. It’s a question of the nationality of the drivers, not of the teams. Currently, we already have an American team, which is Haas, and if we are talking about Andretti, I imagine that he will come with the same approach as Haas. If we really want to be successful in the United States, it will be more a question of having American drivers at the start and being successful, rather than having American teams.” 

He also gave Max Verstappen‘s example to justify the popularity in the Netherlands and support his argument. Verstappen’s Red Bull boss, Christian Horner on the other hand, had logistical issues with another F1 team.

Christian Horner

Christian Horner was on the same page with his chief rival in terms of value dilution for teams who have invested billions into their F1 project. Apart from that, Horner’s concerns also lie in the operational problems with the entry of another team.

“I mean, let’s face it, where would we put them in Zandvoort for example?” he pointed out. “So I think there’s some operational issues to overcome as well, but that’s for Liberty and the FIA, get together, come to us with a proposal and then we can all consider it.”

Last but not least, Guenther Steiner also shared his two cents on the Andretti rejection.

Guenther Steiner

The last team to enter F1 was Steiner lead Haas F1 team. The Italian-American was a one-man army and made Haas part of the circus back in 2016. However, by Steiner’s admission, the sport has changed drastically, and not just commercially. This is exactly why the former team boss believes Andretti would not be ready this early to be competitive and lag severely behind echoing the opinion of FOM.

He said, “I don’t have all the information. Maybe they looked at it and they said, ‘We want them but we want to make sure they are successful when they come’ – to protect them from themselves.”

The 58-year-old added, “I think F1 is protecting all the teams, everyone involved in the sport, they didn’t close the door completely. They said ’28 is a new day, a new year, it’s quite a few years away, it’s not tomorrow but the door is open. Show us you can get prepared and be competitive by then and I think we’d welcome them.”

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Now if we consolidate all the arguments of all the bosses which are: financial dilution, logistical challenges, questioning the value Andretti-Cadillac will add, and their preparedness for the 2025 or 2026 season, it does sound like the FOM statement is an amalgamation of these arguments.

So even if no one can claim FOM’s decision was influenced by the opinions of the bosses, we do believe the pushback has played its part. Do you think the pushback played a part and also is FOM serious about giving Andretti a chance in 2028?

Editorial Disclaimer: The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of EssentiallySports.