Successful talks

U-turn! US team in Formula 1 from 2026?

Will an eleventh team soon be added to the driver line-up?(Bild: AP/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

As was announced on the sidelines of the race weekend in Las Vegas, Formula 1 is to make a U-turn and open itself up to an entry by the US team Andretti. This means that there could be an eleventh racing team in the "premier class" as early as 2026. There had been fierce resistance for a long time. 

Will everything happen quickly after all? In Las Vegas, not only the drivers, but also rumors about an imminent entry of the US team Andretti into the Formula 1 circus were doing the rounds. As reported by "Auto, Motor und Sport", the news of the eleventh team's entry is to be announced soon. 

It would be a major turnaround in a long-running dispute. After all, Andretti has been pushing ahead with the entry for quite some time. 2023 was finally approved by the FIA. However, Formula 1 blocked the project and announced that an entry would be conceivable in 2028 at the earliest.

Mediation probably brought success
The US team took legal action against this and even involved the US Congress. Since then, mediation has been taking place in the background and has apparently been successful. A key factor in this was probably the fact that Michael Andretti, son of former Formula 1 world champion Mario Andretti, has taken a back seat and will only act as an advisor from now on. 

Mario Andretti(Bild: AFP/APA/Getty Images via AFP/GETTY IMAGES/Rudy Carezzevoli)

The team will be managed by financial backer Dan Towriss and will also bear the name of the General Motors brand Cadillac. The increased involvement of General Motors should also satisfy Formula 1. As the racing team will not be able to provide its own engines until 2028 at the earliest, it will have to rely on engines from Honda or Ferrari for the time being.