Eleventh team?
Will Formula 1 get an eleventh team? It can just happen. Michael Andretti, son of world champion Mario Andretti, is an important step closer to signing up for the Andretti F1 team.
The FIA has approved the request from the family of Mario Andretti, the 1978 F1 world champion. This makes it a lot more realistic that there will be an eleventh Formula 1 team in 2026. The FIA has announced that approval has been granted on sporting, technical and financial grounds. The team’s sustainability plans have also been tested, as has a plan for a positive social impact. Andretti is now entering the final phase of the registration process. It must discuss commercial topics with Formula 1 management. That is the last thing that stands in the way of Andretti’s participation in 2026.
Andretti was already close to a takeover of the Swiss Sauber in 2021, which is currently still active in Formula 1 under the Alfa Romeo flag and will soon be presented as Audi. The deal with Sauber failed, but entry into the premier class of motorsport now appears to be in the works. In addition to Andretti’s team, there were three other teams that reached the second phase of the FIA registration process. Unlike Andretti, those teams were unable to produce a watertight plan.
As mentioned, the Andretti team is run by Michael Andretti, who was also a Formula 1 driver. Andretti is already active in IndyCar, the IMSA championships and Formula E. If Andretti does indeed make his Formula 1 debut in 2026, it will be in the year that new technical rules for engines apply. Andretti already works with Cadillac, a brand of the American car giant General Motors. Andretti and Cadillac also intend to collaborate on engines in Formula 1. The latest plans are that Cadillac will not build the power units itself, but that those from Alpine (Renault) will be given a Cadillac badge by Andretti.
Andretti-Cadillac would become – at least in name – an all-American Formula 1 team. This is attractive for Formula 1, due to the increased popularity of the racing series in the United States. Partly because of this growing popularity, there are already three races in the country this year: in Miami, Austin and Las Vegas.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl