Before the FOM rejected Andretti from becoming the 11th team on the grid, FIA President Mohammad Ben Sulayem was confident that there would be no need for the American team to go to court and pursue legal options around the matter. However, it looks like Andretti has no option but to opt for a legal course of action following the falling through of the commercial rights deal between them and the FOM.
Following the approval by the FIA, there was little doubt that Andretti wouldn’t be able to make its way onto the F1 grid, owing largely to the EU directive from 2000. As explained by Auto Motor Sport, the directive dictates that the entry of a participant must only be rejected if they bring disrepute to the sport or pose some sort of security threat. Given Andretti’s long-standing history in motorsports and their partnership with automotive giants General Motors (GM), there was no threat of either of the two scenarios happening.
I’m devastated. I won’t say anything else because I can’t find any other words besides devastated. pic.twitter.com/UaFBC5n9qF
— Mario Andretti (@MarioAndretti) January 31, 2024
Meanwhile, as quoted by The Judge13, F1 expert Matt Gallagher claimed we could quickly see a legal battle develop between Andretti and FOM (especially with Liberty Media being an American company), owing to the team believing there were no grounds for their rejection.
“I think we could see a lawsuit develop pretty quickly because Liberty’s an American company, Formula 1 is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, Andretti has raised a huge amount of money, relatively speaking, in the United States.”
The FIA has strict criteria in place, which check to see whether a team is financially viable to become a participant in any discipline of motorsports. Out of four applicants, the American team was the only one to get the green light to work out a deal with the FOM, and reach an agreement on the commercial side of things.
Andretti issue response on the rejection
Per the FOM, they rejected Andretti‘s bid as they thought the team would not bring any advantage to the championship, citing a potential lack of competitiveness by the team. Despite GM (under the Cadillac banner) working on an engine for the car, F1 did not have faith that the team would have a good enough powertrain and, thus, felt it would be best to deny the entry.
Statement from Andretti Cadillac:
It states that both organisations “strongly disagree” with the contents of the FOM statement released earlier today ❌
More to follow…#F1 pic.twitter.com/D8Ll0Ag9jv
— Autosport (@autosport) January 31, 2024
Addressing the same, Andretti and Cadillac issued a statement claiming the partnership “strongly disagrees with its contents.” They added the team is proud of their developments in producing a “highly competitive car” and that their work will continue “at pace” despite the rejection.
Andretti’s ultimate goal is to showcase a genuine All-American team on the F1 grid, featuring most of their personnel from the US. The team continues working towards the goal as they hired experienced staff and were even logging in hours in a wind tunnel to ensure peak performance from their car. Despite the rejection, it is highly unlikely that the American team will stop its pursuit of landing a position on the F1 grid.
