Formula 1 has rejected the American Andretti staff’s bid to enter the game within the subsequent two years – however left the door open for admission from 2028.

F1 carried out evaluation involving key stakeholders and determined an eleventh staff “would not on its own add value”.

F1 additionally does “not believe the applicant would be a competitive participant”.

That may change when associate General Motors produces its personal engine.

Mario Andretti, the F1 legend and a figurehead of the staff run by his son Michael, stated he was “devastated” by the choice.

“I won’t say anything else because I can’t find any other words besides devastated,” he stated.

GM – which is backing Andretti by way of its luxurious Cadillac model – has stated it plans to construct its personal F1 engine in time for the 2028 season.

F1 stated it could “look differently on an application for the entry of a team into the 2028 championship with a GM power unit, either as a GM works team or as a GM customer team designing all allowable components in-house.

“In this case there could be further components to contemplate in respect of the worth that the applicant would convey to the championship, particularly in respect of bringing a prestigious new OEM [car manufacturer] to the game as a PU [engine] provider.”

F1 stated that earlier than that stage, “the necessity for any new staff to take a obligatory power-unit provide, probably over a interval of a number of seasons, could be damaging to the status and standing of the championship”.

And it dismissed the argument that the Andretti name – associated both with 1978 F1 champion Mario and Michael, an Indycar legend and former F1 driver – was a compelling addition.

“While the Andretti title carries some recognition for F1 followers, our analysis signifies that F1 would convey worth to the Andretti model quite than the opposite approach round,” a press release stated.

Michael Andretti is one of the most successful Indycar drivers of all time who also raced in F1 for most of the 1993 season for McLaren. His team competes in Indycar, endurance racing, touring cars, and the electric Formula E and Extreme E championships.

Mario Andretti is a motorsport legend who raced in F1 from 1968 to 1982, and won 12 grands prix in addition his world title. He was also successful in Indycar and endurance racing.

Other factors taken into account in the decision were the “operational burden on race promoters, [which] would topic some to vital prices”.

And F1 stated it was “not in a position to establish any materials anticipated constructive impact on CRH monetary outcomes, as a key indicator of the pure business worth of the championship”.

The decision was arrived at following research and analysis involving broadcasters, sponsors and circuits – the sport’s main revenue streams.

F1’s key finding centred on engine supply. It essentially decided that having to use an engine from an existing manufacturer for a limited period while having close links to a company that would soon be a rival was too big a compromise on the team’s potential competitiveness.

It is a different situation from that of a normal customer engine supply – such as that of Mercedes with McLaren – because of the potential risks to intellectual property and the restrictions F1 considers that would place on collaboration.

The existing F1 teams had made it clear that they were not in favour of Andretti’s entry for 2025 or 2026, on the basis that it would have diluted their earnings from prize money.

Current rules dictate that new entrants must pay an anti-dilution fee of $200m (£158m) to compensate the existing teams but they felt this was insufficient given the current values of F1 teams, which are in the region of $1bn.

However, F1’s statement made no mention of consulting the existing teams in its assessment of Andretti’s bid, or a recognition of their position.

The FIA has been approached for remark.