The ‘eye-watering’ amount of money Andretti are spending on F1 compared to the current teams

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Andretti are not giving up on their efforts to join the Formula 1 grid despite being rejected by the sport’s commercial owners earlier this year.

The American outfit were initially accepted in late 2023 following checks by the FIA, with Andretti keen on joining the grid for 2025.

As their application moved on to commercial matters with Formula One Management (FOM), many of the current teams expressed their concern over Andretti coming to F1 as an increase of numbers on the grid would decrease their cut in the prize pot at the end of the year.

FOM ultimately rejected Andretti’s entry for the 2025 or 2026 season on the grounds that they would not add value to the sport, as well as there being concern about whether they would be competitive.

Andretti have partnered with Cadillac to boost their efforts in reaching F1. FOM have left the door open to a possible entry for 2027, which is a year before General Motors plans to bring their own power unit to F1.

Andretti are spending ‘eye-watering’ amounts of money that is ‘on par’ with the current F1 teams

Significant work as gone on behind the scenes at Andretti in their goal to get to the pinnacle of motorsport. The team unveiled their new state-of-the-art facility at Silverstone back in April.

The team is already reportedly employing around 120 people as they work on developing their cars and engines for a potential entry as a factory team as early as 2026.

But this, unsurprisingly, has come at a cost. Speaking on the Pit Talk Podcast, Matt Coch revealed that Andretti are spending ‘eye-watering’ amounts of money that is rivalling that of the current team on the F1 grid.

“They’re spending huge amounts of money, like huge. You have no idea how much money that joint is spending,” he said.

“I’ve had a little bit of intel on that one, it’s eye-watering. It’s on par with what the current teams are spending, so it’s a serious business.”

Cadillac and GM could join F1 with or without Andretti

Andretti have not given up on their quest to reach F1, but Guenther Steiner has stressed Cadillac must show FOM the commercial value they can bring to the sport if they are to be granted entry.

There is optimism that Andretti could join F1 in time for 2026 when the new regulations come into effect. But it could be the case that Cadillac enters the sport with or without Andretti after talks behind the scenes.

Andretti were said to be in talks with Alpine over a potential deal that would see them take over from the Enstone squad. Cadillac have recently acquired the intellectual property rights to Renault’s unused 2026 engines, which has boosted their prospects of an F1 entry.

Cadillac have held talks with multiple teams in case the Andretti bid never comes to fruition, but if they are to join F1, they will likely have to join forces with an existing operation rather than start a new one.