"You can't just join our club now when everything's going well" - Martin Brundle decodes F1 statement regarding Andretti Motorsports’ entry

Following F1's landmark decision to reject Andretti Global's F1 entry, Martin Brundle decoded the statement and shared his insights on why the American motorsports giant's entry wasn't approved.

After receiving the approval from FIA to join the grid late last year, Andretti Global had to secure the approval of the F1's commercial rights holders to become the 11th team in the sport. Unfortunately, the team's efforts fell short, as F1 recently rejected its bid to enter the sport in the near future.

The statement released by F1, cites the expected lack of competitiveness, the need for customer engines, and the lack of commercial value as some of the deterring factors. It further mentions that "F1 would bring value to the Andretti brand rather than the other way around," suggesting the American team wouldn't add commercial value to the sport.

Sky Sports F1 pundit Martin Brundle provided insights into why Andretti's bid was rejected, suggesting that an 11th team simply couldn't take the share of the prize pot when the existing 10 teams had played a significant role in the sport's growth over the years.

"This is peak F1 we are in here, and the teams no doubt will be saying 'Hang on a minute, many of us have poured billions to get Formula 1 where it is now, and into our team. There's demand over the world for races, fans, tickets and grandstands are sold out," Brundle told Sky Sports.

"You can't just join our club now when everything's going so well, You are gonna have to show us what you are going to bring to the table?' and F1 have clearly said today 'You are not bringing enough' to warrant an X team on the grid'," he added.

Although the F1 door might be shut for now, the Michael Andretti-led organization could potentially enter the sport in 2028 with a GM power unit. The statement suggests such an application would be considered differently.

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Martin Brundle explains additional reasons for Andretti's failed bid

In the statement released by F1, Andretti is referred to as a 'novice' team and its timeline to enter the sport in 2025 is also discouraged due to a fundamental regulations change in 2026.

Martin Brundle spoke about the challenges the team would face building two different cars in two years and the logistics challenges associated with accommodating an 11th team.

"They’re quite rightly saying that for Andretti as a new team, ‘novice’, as they called them, to build a brand-new car for 2025 and then when the regulations change fundamentally for 2026 to start all over again, it’s too much of a tall order. They think they won’t be competitive," Brundle said on Sky Sports.

"Of course, there’s the logistics too of getting an extra team in the pit lane and around the world for what is a 24-race calendar this year. It’s not just as easy as going: 'Well, yeah, let’s just put two more cars on the grid.'," he added.

The veteran F1 commentator said that he would love to see one or two additional teams on the grid but acknowledged the challenges it would bring.