The𝕴 FIA have accepted their entry bidꩲ, a major step towards Andretti becoming the 11th team on the Formula 1 grid.

’s David Croft explained the process: “It’s all about the 🐽money,𒅌 honey, when it comes to F1!

“500-odd pages from Andretti to the FIA which shows that on sustai📖nability, sporting, diversity grounds,💙 they should have a place on the grid for 2025 or 2026.

“They’ve proved to the governing body that they’ve got the w💖herewithal and the means to go racing.

“But now it’s convꦍincing the commercial rights holder and the 10 other teams that they won’t be disadvantaged by an 11th🍰 team coming through.

“At the moment, the♔ teams receive a pay-out from Liberty in terms of prize money. The better teams get more, the team who finishes bottom gets less.

“They 🌱manage it, they know what’s coming, it’s signed and se🐓aled in a Concorde agreement which controls the financial and commercial side to F1.

“But when you’re a member of an exclusive club who’s doing okay, paying the staff and the bills, and you can afford to go racing, someone else coming in to dilute that pot of money risks all that in🀅vestment and hard work that you’ve put in going to nothing, and you not being able to afford to compete in the future.

“That’s what we’re talking about here - the dilution of the prize m✱oney pot. How does thꦚat work for the commercial rights holder and the 10 other teams?

“There’s a $200m fi༺gure that’s being bandied around as a ꧃dilution figure.

“But the teams are saying: ‘Hang on, since we agreed on that $200m, the sport has grown, we’ve got a better asset now, anyone ܫcoming in should be paying more, maybe $600m which has been suggested, to compensate us for the growth that has taken place since the current Concorde agreement was fine’.

“This is the starting point for the negotiation.”

"One F1 team boss told me 'we are not happy'"

Sky’s Craig Slater pointed out: “The C🐟oncorde agreement runs out at the end of 2025. So that $200m could be revised upwar꧅ds if Andretti don’t get this over the line, before then.

“In basic terms, you’re asking commercial bosses at these teams to take a revenu𒐪e cut. “Will some of them say: ‘Where were Andretti five or six years ago when the sport wasn’t doing so w⛄ell? We’ve suffered, we don’t need the extra revenue taken away’.”

Crofty replied: “I think they will. They will argue that they’ve put the🌞ir money where their mouth is - but they’ve had the opportunity to do that.

“In my lifetime as an꧑ F1 commentator we’ve had new teams come in. Max Mosely with the £40m idea to go racing didn’t quite work. Marussia, HRT, Hispania Racing came to the grid but have since fallen by the wayside.

“From a sporting side I’d love to see another team on the grid. I’d love to see more opportunities for drivers♏ who are capable of driving in F1.

“More opportun꧅ity for female drivers because, at the moment, 20 seats isn’t enough for the talent base that’s out there.

“But I’ve not pu🤡t my money into runningꦺ an F1 team!

“One team boss said to me: ‘We are not really happy with how Andretti have gone about getting into F1, we are not overly keen on the way that they’ve forced the is𓆏sue publically, this hasn’t been a private conversation or matter, it has all played out in the glare of the spotlight’.

“Mario Andretti told us that at the first Miami Grand Prix ‘we are ready to go racing now’ and he came into our commentary box during a practice sess𝐆ion!

“I think there was a resistance because of the upfr🍎ont nature of the Andretti bid. But also a fear that their hard work and investment will not pay off in the way that they projected b🍰ecause another team is diluting the pot.”

How Andretti could convince rival teams

Slater asked: “Could fan pressure play a part?”

Crofty answered: “Fan pressure played a part in the Super🐈 League not going through in football, this might work in aඣ reverse way.

“The negotiations will reach a positive outcome for Andretti Racing if the team bosses and commercial rights holder can be convinced that having a team ꧑based in America, with facilities in America, if that grows the commercial pot (because ever team talks about the commercial opportunities in♊ America), that will put a positive spin on the story.

“I don’t know what fans think. I’💎d l🐷ike to see another team on the grid. I’m sure there will be vocal support from fans saying ‘we want variety’.

“But it all comes down to money, fan press🦩ure is only a small part of any resolution for Andretti Racin🌊g.

“That probably is the case. $200m once was a fair dilution figure. $600m seems like a lot of money but it might not be, given the investment an🐠d value of the current franchises.

“They are🧸 not all makin✅g money, remember that. Aston Martin last week published a loss for last year.

“If Andretti can 𒅌negotiate 𝓀an acceptable figure, I’d love to see another team in F1.”