Andretti have opened a new facility at Silverstone despite their bid to join Formula 1 being rejected earlier this year.
The Andretti Cadillac Racing entry were the only outfit to get the green light from the FIA in October 2023 after failed bids from the likes of Rodin Cars, Hitech and Lky Sunz. However, in January 2024, F1’s stakeholders rejected the bid.
Total-Motorsport.com understands the majority of the grid did not want a new team, so the championship prize fund was not diluted.
Nevertheless, Andretti are still moving forward with a possible future entry to F1, which cannot happen before 2028, and have opened up a UK workforce of around 80 people to go with their main base in Indiana in the United States and the Formula E facility in Banbury in the UK.
“We are proud to announce the opening of a new facility at Silverstone Park, UK,” the team said.
“This new 48,000 square foot building is an important milestone for Andretti Global, as we embark on the next stage of our preparations to enter the FIA Formula One World Championship.”
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To date, Andretti‘s F1 project has been split between operations in Silverstone, Indiana and at the GM Tech Center in North Carolina.
The 10 current F1 teams have a base, or workforce, in the UK apart from Sauber and Ferrari. Sauber are based in Switzerland and Ferrari in Italy.
“Our preparations began some time ago with a focus on critical activities such as assembling key staff and focusing on long lead-time activities including aerodynamic design, mechanical design and vehicle dynamics,” added the Andretti team.
“The new facility will be completed in phases according to commercial and sporting needs and workforce requirements.
“We have said that our work continues at pace – this new facility embodies that work. While we are building an American works team, having a European base is a great way to attract the best in F1 talent and install state-of-the-art machinery.”
Why F1 rejected Andretti
Andretti‘s rejection was overshadowed by Lewis Hamilton‘s shock announcement to Ferrari just a day later at the start of February.
F1 made it clear that an 11th team could join the grid in 2028 but significantly made some key points regarding their decision to reject Andretti‘s entry for 2025, 2026 or 2027.
“Our assessment process has established that the presence of an 11th team would not, in and of itself, provide value to the Championship,” read an F1 statement.
“Any 11th team should show that its participation and involvement would bring a benefit to the championship. The most significant way in which a new entrant would bring value is by being competitive, in particular by competing for podiums and race wins.
“This would materially increase fan engagement and would also increase the value of the championship in the eyes of key stakeholders and sources of revenue such as broadcasters and race promoters.
“The Application contemplates an association with General Motors (GM) that does not initially include a PU supply, with an ambition for a full partnership with GM as a PU supplier in due course, but this will not be the case for some years.
“Having a GM PU supply attached to the Application at the outset would have enhanced its credibility, though a novice constructor in partnership with a new entrant PU supplier would also have a significant challenge to overcome. Most of the attempts to establish a new constructor in the last several decades have not been successful.”
F1 added: “While the Andretti name carries some recognition for F1 fans, our research indicates that F1 would bring value to the Andretti brand rather than the other way around.
“The addition of an 11th team would place an operational burden on race promoters, would subject some of them to significant costs, and would reduce the technical, operational and commercial spaces of the other competitors.
“We were not able to identify any material expected positive effect on CRH financial results, as a key indicator of the pure commercial value of the Championship.
“On the basis of the application as it stands, we do not believe that the Applicant has shown that it would add value to the Championship. We conclude that the Applicant’s application to participate in the Championship should not be successful.”
