Andretti Autosport has officially confirmed it has submitted its Expression of Interest bid documentation to the FIA to enter the running to become a new team on the F1 grid.
In early February, motorsport’s world governing body formally opened the process to attract new teams.
That was based on what FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem described as “the growth and appeal” of Formula 1 being “at unprecedented levels”.
Michael Andretti had previously long made clear his desire to join F1, going so far as to join forces with American manufacturing giant GM and its Cadillac brand in order to get his bid over the line.
The formalities, however, are still required, with Andretti ticking the first box.
A GM spokesperson told Speedcafe: “Andretti Cadillac has submitted our Expression of Interest with the FIA.
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“We feel strongly that our combined deep racing competencies form a distinctly American team that will heighten enthusiasm for F1 racing, globally.
“We appreciate the FIA’s transparent and fair process in their evaluation of expanding the F1 grid.”
Andretti is expected to be joined by two other entries in Panthera and Hitech.
As reported by Speedcafe, however, there are moves behind the scenes by the 10 current teams to prevent the addition of an 11th team.
F1 anti-dilution fee hike?
At present, the primary route is to increase the current anti-dilution fee from US$200million ($297m) to US$600m ($891m).
The fee is paid by a potential new team to secure a place on the grid, with the proceeds split between the 10 teams to protect it against an initial dilution of revenues.
F1’s soaring popularity, however, has led to discussions between the tri-partite members of the Concorde Agreement – F1, the FIA, and the teams – to amend the document and implement a 200 percent price hike.
Although the current Concorde Agreement does not expire until the end of 2025, Speedcafe understands there is provision within its framework for changes to be made accordingly dependent on certain situations, rather than waiting for the new deal from 2026 to take effect.
The F1 teams are determined to protect their interests and a rise of the anti-dilution fee to at least $600m is viewed as a deterrent, believing few, if any organisations would be willing to pay.
Speedcafe has learned that should Andretti be forced to withdraw from the process should it prove unwilling, or unable, to pay any new fee, then GM would still be open to pursuing its current interest in F1 by joining forces with another team.
Intriguingly, it has recently emerged that AlphaTauri could potentially be for sale and another option for Andretti who failed at the end of 2021 to purchase Sauber.
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