The FIA has come out to shut down the noise following the announcement that Andretti had plans to join Formula 1. This is coming after Andretti Global Chairman, Michael Andretti, announced last week that Andretti would be making a bid to join F1 and would do so through General Motors, who would be represented by Cadillac, a brand of luxury cars owned by GM. 

But Andretti’s announcement was not received positively by all as it garnered some reaction that was not so positive. This prompted the president of the FIA, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, to take to Twitter to express his support for Andretti’s bid, saying that things like that should be encouraged as it would add to F1’s appeal. 

He tweeted: “It is surprising that there has been some adverse reaction to the Cadillac and Andretti news.

“The FIA has accepted the entries of smaller, successful organisations in recent years. We should be encouraging prospective F1 entries from global manufacturers like GM and thoroughbred racers like Andretti and others.

“Interest from teams in growth markets adds diversity and broadens F1’s appeal.”

F1 has not taken a decision on Andretti’s bid, but they have said that Andretti would go through the normal process, and that process is unlikely to begin until 2026. Part of that process includes paying a $200 million fee, which would be shared among the current 10 teams to make up for the prize money they would lose with the inclusion of the new team. 

At the moment, only McLaren and Alpine have reacted positively to the Andretti bid, as other teams have questioned whether Andretti would have the competitive standard to be a benefit to the championship.

But we still have over three years before the final conclusion of the FIA/F1 to determine whether or not Andretti would be allowed to join F1, so that gives ample time for many issues to be resolved along the way.

Leon Osamor