Even with Cadillac, Andretti still faces some big hurdles

LONDON : Michael Andretti appears to have ticked all the right boxes with his plan to enter Formula One with General Motors brand Cadillac and an all-American team, but it may still not be enough to secure admission.

Even if the governing FIA sounded welcoming, the reaction from Formula One's commercial rights holder to Thursday's announcement was lukewarm and big hurdles remain to any potential 11th entry.

Andretti, son of 1978 F1 world champion Mario and with an outstanding record as team owner and businessman across various motorsport series, has been rebuffed before but remains optimistic.

"One of the big things was 'what does Andretti bring to the party?’," he told reporters on Thursday's video call announcing the Andretti Global tie-up with GM and plans for an 'all-American' team.

"Well, we're bringing one of the biggest manufacturers in the world now with General Motors and Cadillac. We feel that that was the one box we didn't have checked that we do have checked now."

Andretti tried to take over Sauber, the company that runs the Alfa Romeo F1 team, in 2021 but those talks failed at a late stage. Audi subsequently did the deal instead and will enter a factory team in 2026.

An announcement last February that a power unit partner, believed to be Renault, had been secured also fell on stony ground.

If the FIA is now willing to open an 'expressions of interest' process, which will take some time, the decision will not be decided by the governing body alone nor based solely on credibility.

Andretti must convince the teams and Liberty Media-owned Formula One, which has seemed increasingly at odds with the FIA under that body's new president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, that it is in their interests.

That will not be as easy as in the