Formula 1 has rejected Andretti Global's formal application to enter the sport in 2025/26, although it has left the door open to reconsidering the matter when it comes to the 2028 season.
Andretti's bid for a provisional entry had been approved by motorsport's governing body the FIA, but the commercial rights holder owned and operated by Liberty Media has decided the application was 'lacking'.
If the application had succeeded then Andretti would have become the 11th team on the grid, and the first new entrant since Haas joined at the start of 2016, but F1's commercial analysis concluded a new team "would not on its own add value".
The assessment added that it "not believe the applicant would be a competitive participant", although it acknowledged that this could change when Andretti engine partner General Motors starts producing its own power unit (PU).
GM has said it plans to build its own F1 engine under the Cadillac brand in time for the 2028 season. Until then it would have to use an engine from an existing manufacturer such as Mercedes, Ferrari or Renault.
The F1 report was concerned that having close links to a company that would soon become a rival presented too big a compromise on the team's potential competitiveness and a potential risk to intellectual property.
The F1 report said it would look differently on an application for the entry of a team in 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 would be additional factors to consider in respect of the value that the applicant would bring to the championship, in particular in respect of bringing a prestigious new [manufacturer] to the sport.
However it was Formula 1's view that "the need for any new team to take a compulsory power-unit supply, potentially over a period of several seasons, would be damaging to the prestige and standing of the championship".
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And it gave little weight to the argument that the team's history motorsports name and prestige should have any bearing on the current decision.
"While the Andretti name carries some recognition for F1 fans, our research indicates that F1 would bring value to the Andretti brand rather than the other way around," is concluded.
Mario Andretti was the 1978 Formula 1 world champion. His son Michael also competed in F1 before becoming a successful motor racing team orner in IndyCar, Formula E, Extreme E, endurance racing and touring cars
In compiling the report, F1 consulted with representatives of the sport's main revenue streams - broadcasters, sponsors and circuits. The report was "not able to identify any material expected positive effect" on future financial results.
But rival teams were not said to have been part of the consultation, having made their concerns about the impact on prize fund revenue.
The current business rules surrounding F1 require new entrants to put up a $200m 'anti-dilution fee' to compensate existing teams for potential loss of income.
However meany of the teams feel this is now insufficient given the current valuation of F1 teams which have sky rocked in recent years with the growth of popularity of the sport,m with teams now valued in the region of $1bn.
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