Andretti may join F1 if Liberty Media agrees one thing with ‘no reason’ to block 11th team

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Andretti have been pushing to become the 11th team on the Formula 1 grid for multiple seasons but have not been successful.

The American team have been very successful racing in North America, taking victory six times at the Indy 500 – most recently in 2017 with Takuma Sato.

They have also won four IndyCar championships but have lagged behind Chip Ganassi Racing and Team Penske in recent years.

Andretti have also stepped into Formula E but creating a Formula 1 team is proving to be very difficult, despite having a lot of resources available.

Yet Ralf Bach explained when speaking on the F1 Insider YouTube channel that Liberty Media could be left with no reason to block Andretti from joining the grid if Formula 1’s owners agree to one thing.

Andretti could be allowed to enter F1 if Liberty Media agrees a deal with the US Congress and Ministry of Justice

The American team have been pushing to join Formula 1 for years and there were suggestions that Andretti were interested in buying Sauber in 2021.

Sauber are now going to transform into Audi in 2026 when Formula 1 introduces new regulations which attracted the German manufacturer to debut in the series.

Michael Andretti also applied to enter Formula 1 under the name Andretti Global for the 2024 season which didn’t come to fruition.

Last year, Andretti also bid to join the Formula 1 grid in 2026 but Formula 1 Management rejected the American team despite the FIA giving its approval.

READ MORE: Current Formula 1 team have held ‘conversation’ with Cadillac and General Motors in case Andretti bid fails

Now, though, Bach explained that if Liberty Media agrees to a deal with the US Congress and Ministry of Justice, Andretti may finally get a chance to join F1.

He said: “I think we will find an agreement with Congress and the Ministry of Justice that Andretti, who could be spending a lot of money, will be allowed to enter Formula 1.

“I’m pretty sure which is a good thing, especially because the FIA is the automobile authority that gave the green light and said that they correspond very well with the requirements, they have the money, there is no risk and they are a big name.

“There is no reason not to let them into Formula 1. That has been checked and the Liberty Media argument together with [the] team bosses, they were very flimsy and blocked it.”

Andretti may provide a boost to American interest in Formula 1

Andretti have been very successful in IndyCar throughout their history and ended this season very positively, with Colton Herta winning at the Nashville Superspeedway.

Formula 1 struggled to break into the American market for a long time but now hosts three races in the United States, including next time out at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

The Andretti family also have a deep-rooted history within Formula 1, as Mario Andretti won the world championship in 1978.

Andretti may still get onto the grid in F1 but there is still work to be done before they become the 11th team in the field.