Andretti F1 bid will ‘reach a point where they can’t say no’ as new Silverstone facility opens

Michael Andretti believes his prospective F1 team will soon reach a point where it cannot be denied an entry to the world championship.

The American outfit’s entry had been approved by governing body the FIA last October but commercial rights holders F1 rejected the bid to join in either 2025 or 2026.

However, F1 did leave the door open for admission from 2028 when General Motors is in a position to produce its own engine for Andretti.

Despite the rejection, Andretti continue to press on with their project and formerly opened a new UK base at Silverstone on Wednesday.

"We are still working along with FOM and we will show that we are bringing a lot to the party,” Michael Andretti told Sky Sports News.

"General Motors is huge coming to the party. They are not just coming to be here, they are coming here to be a big part of our team, and I think it's not been understood yet how big that is.

"I think once everybody understands what we are really putting together it'll be a point where they can't say no.”

Andretti, who is heading the project with his father Mario, the 1978 F1 world champion, added: "They are currently building an engine. They are already registered to do it.

"So we will have an engine in '28, but obviously we need to build to get there. To just, all of a sudden, show up in '28 with a new engine and no team, we need two years to build there to get there that when we do get our own engine the team's ready to go and be competitive.

"So we are not naive in any way in that way.”

The existing 10 F1 teams have made it clear that they are not keen on Andretti’s entry because it would dilute their prize money earnings.

“We feel that we're not going to be diluting the pot, we feel like we're going to be helping raise the pot, and when the pot gets bigger, then everybody is going to share more in it,” Andretti argued.

"It's been a little frustrating, but we'll get our point across."