"Once everybody understands what we are really putting together it'll be a point where they can't say no," insists Michael Andretti as his outfit formally open UK base as pursuit of F1 entry continues despite 2025-2026 rejection; Andretti says General Motors "already building" 2028 engine
Wednesday 10 April 2024 19:34, UK
Michael Andretti remains convinced that his prospective F1 team will eventually join the grid and the sport will reach "a point where they can't say no".
The American outfit's application to enter the grid as an 11th team for 2025 or 2026 was in January rejected by F1 with the sport doubtful that Andretti, who applied in partnership with General Motors brand Cadillac, would be sufficiently competitive or add value to the championship in either of those two seasons.
F1 did however leave the door open for 2028 by saying it would "look differently on an application" if it included a full engine supply deal from General Motors, who last year registered with the FIA to be a power unit manufacturer from that season.
Despite F1's decision on its entry for 2025-26, Andretti have pressed ahead on their project and on Wednesday hosted an event to formally open its new UK satellite base at Silverstone where around 120 staff are currently working.
Speaking to Sky Sports News, Michael Andretti said they remained in ongoing dialogue with Formula One Management (FOM) over their entry bid and talked up the significance of General Motors' involvement in it.
"We are still working along with FOM and we will show that we are bringing a lot to the party," said the former McLaren driver who is spearheading the project with his father Mario, the 1978 F1 world champion.
"General Motors is huge coming to the party. They are not just coming to be here, they are coming here to be a big part of our team, and I think it's not been understood yet how big that is.
"I think once everybody understands what we are really putting together it'll be a point where they can't say no."
Although an entry before 2028 has been ruled out by F1, Andretti insist they would be ready to compete in 2026 and "that's what we're pushing for right now".
And while confirming that General Motors were committed to building an F1 engine from 2028, Andretti argued that it made more sense for his team to enter in the seasons before then.
"They are currently building an engine. They are already registered to do it," he stated.
"So we will have an engine in '28, but obviously we need to build to get there. To just, all of a sudden, show up in '28 with a new engine and no team, we need two years to build there to get there that when we do get our own engine the team's ready to go and be competitive.
"So we are not naive in any way in that way."
While Andretti's application to join the grid was approved by the FIA, motorsport's governing body which originally opened up the process to find a potential new team, F1 ultimately had the final say and, after several months of deliberations, laid out its reasons for rejecting the 2025-2026 bid.
While not having a formal say in the matter, a number of F1's existing 10 teams publicly and vocally argued against the immediate expansion of the grid on financial grounds.
But, speaking on Wednesday, Michael Andretti argued: "We feel that we're not going to be diluting the pot, we feel like we're going to be helping raise the pot, and when the pot gets bigger, then everybody is going to share more in it.
"It's been a little frustrating, but we'll get our point across."
Asked what his entry would bring to F1 beyond the famous surname, Andretti said: "One thing is General Motors, it's not something that's small. General Motors have never been in Formula 1 so to have them come with us says something because they were not just going to do it just on their own, they wanted to do it with a partnership like us.
"So I think the whole way we're going about it is something that's never been done before and that's going to be huge for Formula 1, especially in the United States with having an all-American car being built in America with American owners, American engine and American driver.
"It's never been done before, and I think with the American market which is still very much untapped it's only going to help it explode. So to us, it's a no-brainer, and I think to almost anybody you talk to it's a no-brainer, so we've still got to talk to FOM and get them to understand that it's going to be better for everybody."
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