Andretti-Cadillac issued a new statement on Friday with a more extensive response to Formula One Management’s rejection of becoming the eleventh team in Formula 1. Michael Andretti’s team states that it does not agree with FOM’s assessment on two points. In a second statement, Andretti explains these points.
Earlier this week it was announced that Andretti-Cadillac will not be on the F1 grid until at least 2028. The American team said in an initial response that it was disappointed in FOM’s decision, but Andretti felt called to release a new statement on Friday evening. The racing stable will provide a more detailed response to the rejection.
FOM rejected the application for several reasons, but Andretti disagrees with two of these arguments. Firstly, the stated time at which the team wants to join is incorrect. ‘When Andretti-Cadillac started the process with the FIA ​​to express interest almost a year ago, according to the procedure, 2025 was still the desired year to enter. The FIA ​​approved our application, without stating whether it would be 2025 or 2026. Andretti-Cadillac has been working towards the goal of participating in 2026 for months now. The fact that 2025 is still on the application is mainly because the process takes so long.’
Andretti would not reject a conversation with FOM
Formula 1’s statement also stated that Andretti had missed the opportunity to discuss the ideas. According to the American team, that is also not entirely correct. ‘We were not aware that the offer for a meeting had been extended and would never turn down a conversation with Formula One Management. A personal conversation about commercial matters remains very important to us. We would very much like to take advantage of the opportunity to speak with Formula One Management and we have already expressed our interest,” Andretti’s statement said.
