The Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) has confirmed that Andretti Formula Racing Llc has been granted approval to join Formula One. While Micheal Andretti first announced plans to have the family racing team join the F1 grid in 2022, FIA hadn’t taken the matter under serious consideration until the following year.

The FIA officially launched an application process to identify prospective teams by early 2023. Knowing that F1 was eager to continue drawing fans in the United States, Andretti immediately announced a partnership with Cadillac. We previously speculated that being backed by General Motors would make all the difference for Andretti Autosport.

From the FIA:

Following the conclusion of a comprehensive application process for prospective teams seeking to participate at a competitive level in the FIA Formula One World Championship, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile has concluded that the application by Andretti Formula Racing LLC should progress to the next stage.

Andretti Formula Racing LLC was the only candidate to meet the stringent criteria that was set by the FIA in all material respects from the four teams which lodged formal applications in Phase 2 of the process. The initial call for Expressions of Interest (Phase 1) attracted numerous enquiries which resulted in four progressing to Phase 2.

The FIA has officially informed all applicant teams of their findings after a thorough appraisal.

Phase 2 involves the application, evaluation, and approval process. Andretti and Cadillac will now need to talk things over with Formula 1 Group, the governing body in charge of the sport's commercial rights, and owner Liberty Media. While it seems like one of F1’s overarching goals has been to increase viewership, with a racing team associated with one of America’s most iconic racing families seeming like a good fit, Formula 1 Group is composed of representatives from several racing teams that do not want to see Andretti or Cadillac on the track.

This includes the current CEO of Formula One Group and former team principal of the Scuderia Ferrari Formula One, Stefano Domenicali.

“There are others that are much less vocal that would like to come into Formula 1, so there is a process to respect, and we will make sure together with the FIA that the process will be respected,” Domenicali said of the Andretti team in February. “There are a lot of dimensions to consider, and we don’t have to overreact because someone is pushing the system.”

However, Michael Andretti had previously noted that F1 politics frequently favors certain teams and scoffed about some of the complaints stemming from greed. The comment undoubtedly lacked tact. But it wasn’t exactly untrue, especially since adding another team technically dilutes the available prize money.

Domenicali called Andretti’s comments “not smart.”

Ferrari (which has more F1 wins than anybody) seemed to level the most complaints about the prospective Andretti-Cadillac situation, whereas Alpine and McLaren were the only two that seemed broadly okay with another team being added for the subsequent season.

With that in mind, Andretti Formula Racing LLC may yet fail to line up on any Formula 1 starting grids. It may seem unlikely due to the fact that organizers want to draw in American viewers. But it’s not like European racing organizations haven’t treated American teams unjustly in the past and F1 is notorious for having wonky internal politics regardless.

Assuming everything goes well for Andretti Formula Racing, we probably won’t see them competing until 2025. But that would leave them developing and running a car that would have to undergo some heavy changes for the following season. The 2026 regulations are supposed to introduce engines that use “fully sustainable fuels” produced in Saudi Arabia and incorporate substantially more electrification.

[Image: General Motors]

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