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Martin Brundle gives his late verdict on F1 rejecting Andretti’s bid to enter the sport

Originally posted on FirstSportz | By Justin P Joy | Last updated 2/17/24

At the end of January Andretti’s bid to be part of Formula One was rejected. F1 rejected the bid from one of the most prestigious racing teams because they did not believe Andrett’s car would be competitive. The Premier Open Wheel racing organization also asserted that the American team isn’t bringing additional value to the series.

Former race driver and current F1 commentator Martin Brundle recently discussed the same topic on his Skysports F1 podcast. He stated that he would prefer to see four new drivers and an 11th or 12th team on the grid. The F1 pundit believes that personally, it has nothing to do with Andretti, with how others feel about the new team on the grid, but he does understand the place they are coming from.

They are happy with 20 cars, and the pit lane is full with, hospitality and everything. They didn’t need it, and they think that Andretti with a customer engine won’t really be bringing anything to Formula One. Martin Brundle said via SkySportsf1

Having said that, he thinks Andretti is well-known in America, but one shouldn’t get ahead of themselves in Formula One. He said that one needs to consider things over the long term. Brundle asserted that since there is never a guarantee in Formula One, they need more reliable teams.

General Motors is still ‘confident’ they can enter F1 with Andretti

General Motors still believes in its application for a future Andretti Cadillac entry, despite the recent rejection by the Formula 1 organization. After F1 rejected the bid, the vice president of performance and motorsports of General Motors, Jim Campbell stated that their joined teams are continuing to work on the car at their pace.

We believe in the application we submitted. In that application, we articulated the abilities of both Andretti as a race team and Cadillac as a manufacturing and engineering entity. So, we feel confident in the application and are asking for a meeting with FOM. Jim Campbell said: motorsports.com

The team had requested a meeting with F1 after an IT glitch caused an invitation to Andretti to go astray. The bid was approved by the FIA in October and passed to F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali. Although the team’s ability to compete was questioned last month, things could take a different turn when Cadillac’s power unit is prepared in 2028 and the team is entered with financial support.