Rumor: Andretti is going to have to cough up more money to be 11th team (2nd Update)

by Mark Cipolloni

This rumor is upgraded to ‘strong’ today.

A GM spokesperson says: “Andretti Cadillac has submitted our Expression of Interest with the FIA.

“We feel strongly that our combined deep racing competencies form a distinctly American team that will heighten enthusiasm for F1 racing, globally.

“We appreciate the FIA’s transparent and fair process in their evaluation of expanding the F1 grid.”

Although the current Concorde Agreement does not expire until the end of 2025, there is provision within its framework for changes to be made accordingly dependent on certain situations, rather than waiting for the new deal from 2026 to take effect.

The F1 teams are determined to protect their interests and a rise of the anti-dilution fee to at least $600m is viewed as a deterrent, believing few, if any organizations would be willing to pay.

If Andretti were to pay the $600 million, they would have nothing to show for it – no F1 factory, no existing F1 team, no F1 design personnel, etc.   It would still have to invest in all of that, easily pushing the price tag over $1 billion for a team starting from zero at the back of the grid.

See Related Article: Andretti has them by the balls, they just don’t know it yet

Hence, why it makes so much more sense for Andretti to try and acquire the AlphaTauri team, if the rumors are true it may be up for sale.  While it currently is not a front-running team, it has two F1 wins to its credit and it would be an excellent starting point for Andretti and Cadillac.  And they save the $600 million blackmail fee (yes, that is essentially what it is) – so the existing teams get none of Andretti’s money.

by Mark Cipolloni

The word that emerged out of the Bahrain preseason test is that any new team entry will be delayed until 2026 by the teams, at which time the new Concorde Agreement will be in place.

Word is the $200 million anti-dilution fee will be increased to $600 million.  If that happens, Andretti Global might be better off using that money and buying the AlphaTauri team (see related rumor) instead of applying to be the 11th F1 team.

We suspect Red Bull might ask close to $1 billion for the Alpha Tauri team given the investment it has in its Faenza, Italy factory and F1 car design IP, though given its recent performance, it might be had for less.

.Coincidently, the factory is about 200-miles from where Mario Andretti was born in Trieste.  However, the team has no Wind-Tunnel in Italy, as it currently relies on Red Bull’s wind tunnel in England.

It would give Andretti a 5-year head-start vs. starting a team from scratch. Andretti Global will burn through more cash than that getting their team to be competitive, so we suspect if the Alpha Tauri team does go up for sale, Andretti will make a strong run for it.

If Andretti is successful, he may be able to lure Aldo Costa away from Dallara, where he now works in Parma, 110 miles from Faenza. Aldo Costa has designed more championship winning F1 cars than anyone else in the sport. Costa left Mercedes to be closer to his family in Italy. Is he up to taking on the challenge of making Andretti Global’s design team a top-tier F1 outfit like he did at Ferrari in the Schumacher era and at Mercedes in the Hamilton era?

If rumors are to be believed, the Andretti Global effort to enter F1, and anyone else for that matter, are going to have to pay far more than the current $200 million anti-dilution fee to enter a team in F1.

The $200 million number is locked in through 2025, hence why the Andrettis want to have a team on the grid for 2025.

However, the existing teams would like to delay any new entries until 2026, when a new Concorde Agreement will go into effect.

The topic is set to be discussed in next week’s F1 Commission meeting, with some parties thought to be looking for a $600 million number under the next Concorde Agreement.

McLaren Racing CEO Brown called General Motors an “unbelievable automotive manufacturer” and said he would be happy to see the grid expand, so long as any newcomer could be beneficial to F1 as a whole.

“Our general view is that so long as a team is additive to the sport, whether it’s an 11th team and/or a 12th team, and can help make the pie bigger, drive greater awareness and we all get more sponsors, we get more media deals, and they pay what’s a fair franchise fee, which all sports have, then I see no reason for them not to join,” Brown told Autosport.

“It’s ultimately up to the FIA and Formula 1 to determine whether they tick all those boxes of criteria.

“But assuming they do, then very welcome to race against them.

“I’ve found some Formula 1 teams are very short-sighted in their view on not taking a longer-range view of what are things that can grow the sport, and they kind of think about the here and now.

“Unfortunately, I’m not surprised some of our competitors are quite short-sighted in their thinking.”

Mark Cipolloni reporting for AutoRacing1.com