Andretti announces application to launch 11th Formula 1 team

Michael Andretti is pressing ahead with plans to create a second US Formula 1 team, and has applied to join the grid as an 11th constructor for the 2024 season.

The news was announced in a Twitter post by 1978 F1 champion, Mario Andretti, who said that his son had already applied for an entry and “has the resources and checks every box”.

The team, to be called Andretti Global, will be based in England, said Mario in an interview with the Indianapolis Star. However, the cars are set to be built in a new “state-of-the-art” factory in Indianapolis, where Andretti Autosport’s IndyCar and Indy Lights teams are based.

Andretti also runs teams in Formula E, Extreme E, IMSA and Australian Supercars. He has been looking to join the American-led Haas team in Formula 1 for some time and was close to buying the Alfa Romeo-branded Sauber team last year.

The deal, rumoured to be worth more than $300m (£220m), fell through after what Michael Andretti described as “control issues”, going on to tell Racer that “our eyes are always going to stay open”.

Michael has applied to the FIA to field a new F1 team starting in 2024. His entry, Andretti Global, has the resources and checks every box. He is awaiting the FIA's determination.

— Mario Andretti (@MarioAndretti) February 18, 2022

Joining Formula 1 as an additional team has always been one option but the current Concorde Agreement, which sets out the series’ entry terms and commercial rights, imposes a $200m fee to join the current grid of ten teams, with very limited exceptions.

The funding is distributed to existing teams to compensate for losing a slice of commercial revenues to the new team.

“Michael has been working on this for quite a long time, but he’s taken a different direction since there’s no teams available to buy,” Mario said. “They’re far enough along that, if they get the approval to be added to the 10 teams that exist in F1, they’re ready to go the next day and put everything in place.”

Formula 1’s growing popularity in America, combined with its new cost cap, will make it relatively easier for Andretti to find enough sponsorship to fund the team. Viewing figures increased by 58% last year, compared with 2020, and the US Grand Prix saw a record 400,000 attendance across the weekend. This year, the Miami Grand Prix joins the calendar.