DECISION; Andretti said He we never and never!!!

Andretti is not giving up on its efforts to join the Formula 1 grid after being rejected by the commercial rights holders.

The American outfit was accepted by the FIA in late 2023 following checks after the tender process, however when it came to talks with F1’s Commercial Rights Holder they failed to demonstrate accretive qualities.

Many of the teams were concerned that Andretti would be getting a share of the prize money which would decrease their current share, while the dilution fee is also outdated given it was for the last Concorde Agreement that took place in 2020.

Formula One Management [FOM] did leave the door open to Andretti by saying they could join in the future if they plan to bring Cadillac onboard as an OEM.

Peter Windsor has discussed the Andretti saga on his YouTube channel and believes the prospective team has been treated poorly by F1 given the name associated with the entry.

Peter Windsor says Andretti given ‘slap in the face’ by F1

Andretti could reapply to get a place on the grid as early as the 2027 season, which could still happen given Cadillac is rumoured to be looking at purchasing the engine IP from Renault, who recently discontinued its 2026 engine project.

With the American team effectively denied because F1 felt it would not add value for them, Windsor thinks they should have been shown more respect.

“There are so many other things Andretti is doing so well, but more than that I think it’s a slight against Mario with everything he has done for motorsport and F1 and more respect should’ve been shown,” said Windsor.

“The wording of the press release has been absolutely appalling and a slap in the face for Andretti.”

Cadillac and GM could join F1 with or without Andretti

Former F1 team principal Guenther Steiner has stressed that Cadillac must show FOM the commercial value they can bring to the championship if they want to be granted entry.

Andretti is still working on their chassis for the 2026 season having not been bound to the same restrictions as other teams, who must commence work no earlier than January next year.

Cadillac has held talks with multiple teams in case Andretti never comes to fruition, in a bid to have an option with an existing team if GM decides it wants to go ahead.

There is optimism that Andretti might join in time for 2026, whether it is with Cadillac or another one of the existing engine manufacturers that has signed up for the new ruleset.