Andretti receive official FIA approval in huge 11th F1 team milestone

Sam Cooper 02 Oct 2023 4:13 PM

Andretti have received the FIA’s approval to join the F1 grid but will now have to convince FOM to also allow their entry.

The American outfit submitted their Expression of Interest application to the FIA earlier this year and have passed that test although a harder task is now ahead of them.

Having convinced the governing body, Andretti must do the same with the sport’s commercial wing who have shown more reluctance to the idea.

Andretti Formula Racing the only prospective F1 bidders to receive FIA approval

Andretti have been searching for a place on the grid since 2021 and have announced a partnership with General Motors to run as Andretti-Cadillac, bringing a value many of the existing teams had wanted to see.

In their statement, the FIA said Andretti was the only candidate to meet the criteria after four teams lodged their application.

The process assessed the team’s sporting and technical ability, the ability of the team to raise and maintain sufficient funding to allow participation in the championship at a competitive level and the team’s experience and human resources.

Applications were also judged on their ability to meet sustainability criteria and deliver positive societal impact in line with the FIA’s approach to equality, diversity and inclusion.

Having passed the application, the FIA will now hand their findings to FOM for commercial discussions.

Shortly after the news, a spokesperson for F1 said: “We note the FIA’s conclusions in relation to the first and second phases of their process and will now conduct our own assessment of the merits of the remaining application.”

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem said: “The FIA was very clear in establishing stringent criteria for entry from the outset of the Expressions of Interest procedure. Our objective, after rigorous due diligence during the application phase, was to only approve prospective entries which satisfied the set criteria and illustrated that they would add value to the sport.

PlanetF1.com recommends

Revealed: FIA unveil F1 2026 weight reduction target as cars set to go ‘on a diet’

Explained: How the FIA develops potential new F1 rules and regulations

“The FIA is obliged to approve applications that comply with the Expressions of Interests application requirements and we have adhered to that procedure in deciding that Andretti Formula Racing LLC’s application would proceed to the next stage of the application process. In taking that decision, the FIA is acting in accordance with EU directives on motor sport participation and development.

“Andretti Formula Racing LLC was the only entity which fulfils the selection criteria that was set in all material respects. I congratulate Michael Andretti and his team on a thorough submission. I also want to thank all prospective teams for their interest and participation.

“感兴趣的表达过程建立的positive acceptance of the FIA’s 2026 F1 Power Unit Regulations among existing OEMs which has also attracted further commitment from Audi, Honda and Ford and interest from Porsche and General Motors.

“I would like to thank all of the FIA team members involved in the Expressions of Interest process for their tireless efforts in ensuring a diligent assessment of all of the applications received.”

The FIA process was made up of three stages with phase one inviting expressions of interest, phase two evaluating and approving those applications and then phase three seeing the FIA pass on the findings to FOM.

The teams suspected to have made it to phase two were Andretti, LKYSUNZ, HiTech GP and Rodin-Carlin.