Dozen members of Congress raise concerns over rejection of Mario Andretti’s F1 team for 2026 entry

MIAMI GARDENS — American racing icon Mario Andretti joined his son, Michael, in Washington, D.C., earlier this week to talk to members of Congress to lobby the Formula One racing series for some high-speed answers as Michael's Andretti Global team continues its quest to earn a place on the prestigious grid that’s competing in the CRYPTO.com Miami Grand Prix this weekend around Hard Rock Stadium.

In January, Andretti’s bid to field an F1 team was accepted by the FIA (International Automobile Federation), which governs the series. But in the next stage of the process, Formula One Management (FOM) rejected the bid for a 2026 entry, leaving open the door that with certain conditions met, 2028 was a possibility.

The series said it didn’t believe the Andretti Global team could be ready fast enough and questioned the “value” it might add coming onto the grid at this point. It did, however, indicate that if General Motors, which is set to partner with Andretti, would make its own engine and not be just a technical partner, there could be a place for the team down the road.

Andretti will be in the Miami paddock this weekend making his case to the series’ movers and shakers to accept his ownership bid sooner. And he’s got backup. This time — as a result of his family’s D.C. visit — he has enlisted 12 members of Congress to act on his behalf.

“We are grateful to the bipartisan members of Congress for their support in challenging this anti-competitive behavior," Andretti Global said in a statement this week. “We remain committed to bringing the first U.S. works team and power unit to F1 and giving American fans a home team to root for. It is our hope that this can be resolved swiftly so that Andretti Cadillac can take its rightfully approved place on the grid in 2026. Our work continues at pace."

For their part, the dozen bipartisan Congress members sent a letter to Formula One asking for explanations — even invoking wording from the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 to question the competitive fairness of not allowing Andretti’s team on the grid. It also notes that the governing body’s Concorde Agreement says there can be 12 teams on the grid. There are currently only 10. And it questions how the FIA can approve Andretti’s entry only to have that then nixed by the FOM.

The members who signed the letter are Reps. John James, R-Mich., Don Davis, D-N.C., Jim Banks, R-Ind., Jake Ellzey, R-Texas, Morgan Luttrell, R-Texas, Erin Houchin, R-Ind., André Carson, D-Ind., Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., Rudy Yakym III, R-Ind., Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, Dan Kildee, D-Mich., and Haley Stevens, D-Mich.

It’s worth noting, Andretti is moving ahead, ultimately counting on a positive result. Andretti Global opened a 40,000-square-foot facility in Silverstone, England — the site of the British Grand Prix in April. The design team has already moved in and started work. The facility — which is due to be enlarged — will house the design department and serve as home base for the drivers. The cars will be built at a facility in Indiana.

Mario Andretti is the 1978 Formula One world champion. Michael Andretti earned one podium competing in the series in 1993 before returning to the IndyCar Series where he won 42 races and the 1991 title.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: congress formula one F1 andretti rejection