The FOM has not yet agreed with him, but Michael Andretti he doesn't seem to have lost heart. The former American driver, in fact, is continuing his battle to enter Formula 1 by placing the various pieces, including the recent inauguration of a new facility in England, within the Silverstone Park. However, a potential sword of Damocles hangs over the head of the owner of Andretti Global: potential limit to ten teams which seems to be possible and future introduction in the new Concorde Agreement in force from 2026. But let's proceed in order.
New base for Andretti at Silverstone
As we remembered, Michael Andretti recently received a firm no from Formula One Management, despite FIA approval. However, the American driver did not lose heart and, thanks to the approval of the FIA, continued his goal of entering the track in 2026. After the agreement with Cadillac, in fact, Andretti expanded into a new headquarters in Silverstone Park, a futuristic hub near the racetrack.
The headquarters, of almost 4500 square meters, aims to become Andretti's new hub in Europe, with car production processes, research and development, electronics and much more. The headquarters will however remain in Indiana, while the team participating in the Formula E world championship will continue to have its base in Banbury. Thus, the Andretti F1 project will be split between Silverstone, Indiana and GM's development center in North Carolina. In the team's own words, “having a base in Europe despite being an American team serves to attract the best talent".
To this, then, it is necessary to add a further piece of development for Andretti: the interest in minor formulas. As reported by colleagues at Motorsport.comIn fact, Andretti is considering also launching into Formula 2 and Formula 3 if it manages to enter Formula 1. This path would be optimal for having its own academy and developing new drivers for the future. The cars, if this were to go through, would depart from the new Silverstone base. We would thus return to seeing a direct line of American drivers in Europe to aim for Formula 1. The last American in Formula 1, after Logan sargeant, Was Alexander Rossi, winner of the 500 Indianapolis 2016 with Andretti.
New Concorde Agreement limited to ten teams?
However, there is a huge problem on the horizon for Michael Andretti: the new Concorde Agreement which should begin to take effect in 2026 and, for which, teams will have to vote on Liberty Media's proposal shortly.
The latter, in concert with the teams, would like to avoid a new Andretti case by limiting the current situation and preventing its evolution. As reported by Joe Saward, in fact, there is a strong belief that we cannot go lower than 10 teams, and that that would be the new limit.
In doing so, therefore, Andretti would be forced to buy an already existing team, as previously tried with Sauber. However, none appear to be for sale, at least in their current state, so there seems to be a huge FIA-FOM fight over how this debacle should be resolved. Certainly, Andretti is not standing by and watching, preparing to participate in a championship for which he has approval from those who make the rules but not from those who have to distribute the commercial rights. And it will not be a new base in England that will facilitate Andretti's entry if the Concordat is effectively limited.
