GENERAL Motors are getting ever closer to becoming the 11th F1 team as they eye a spot on the grid for the 2026 season.
This comes after years of speculation over an 11th team, especially with major interest from American former racing driver, Mario Andretti.
The proposed GM F1 team would be all American, making it two teams from the states on the grid, the other being Haas.
GM have been partnered with Andretti Global (previously Andretti Motorsport), and have made attempts to join the F1 grid before, but were unsuccessful.
Their efforts were accepted by the FIA in the past but rejected by F1 themselves as they said the team would struggle to be competitive.
Originally, the opportunity would still be there for them to request entry for the 2028 season, when their engine supplier would be ready, but Andretti wanted in earlier.
It was understood that after this, Andretti’s reaction to rejection was too aggressive and pushed F1 away from the deal so the door seemed permanently shut for the team.
So, when it was announced that Andretti would be stepping down as owner of Andretti General earlier this year, it seems things changed for their chances of becoming an F1 team.
If the new bid is accepted by F1 and the FIA, the GM team will be able to compete but will have to use a different engine supplier as they won’t be ready to produce competitive engines until 2028.
Although Andretti and GM have had their rejections from F1, it hasn’t stopped them from building up their Silverstone factory and If they do gain access to the F1 grid, they may have to take over at the Towcester based project.
Earlier this month, former Haas Team Principle Guenther Steiner said that he doubts there will be an 11th team on the grid in the near future, in one of his live talk shows.
When he was asked if there would be an Andretti F1 team, he said “Never say never, but I think in the short term we will not see an 11th team.”
With these being the general thoughts of people within F1 over the last month, it shows how fast things move in the world of motorsport.
