F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali long stood by his stance that any 11th team would have to prove it was accretive to the series as a whole to secure a spot – with the clear inference being that the American squad faced a tough ask to prove it.
That F1 has finally ended three months of deliberation over its call on Andretti by rejecting its application (for now at least) is ultimately no surprise.
However, what was perhaps most intriguing about the way the decision went public was how detailed F1’s response was in outlining the issues at stake – perhaps well aware that anything less could open the risk of legal action if arguments were not robust enough.
FOM’s document even went into quite some detail, explaining how there had been written correspondence between Andretti and FOM last October, and that there had been an offer made on 12 December 2023, for a face-to-face meeting at FOM’s London HQ.
“The Applicant did not take us up on this offer,” said F1.
The full explanation outlines three key factors that it believes counted against the Andretti green light.