Shortly after the end of the second free practice session in Las Vegas, shocking news broke that is bound to significantly change the landscape for 2026.
According to reports from RacingNews365 and FormulaHu, Liberty Media has decided to accept the proposal for the entry of an eleventh team in F1 in 2026, with an official announcement expected in the coming hours/weeks.
However, it is still unclear which team will join the other ten teams for the new regulatory cycle, although Andretti remains the leading candidate, backed by a giant like General Motors, which, according to rumors, played a key role in unraveling the complicated situation.
Andretti wins the battle against Liberty Media
The American team, now led by Dan Towriss after Michael Andretti stepped down just over a month ago, would therefore enter Formula 1 as a customer team for the first two seasons, before switching to Cadillac power units in 2028.
For 2026 and 2027, according to RN365, Ferrari and Honda are the two main candidates to supply their power units, while Audi and Red Bull Powertrains would not be involved in the negotiations.
The news comes just days after the European Commission’s verdict on the investigation into Greg Maffei’s consortium, which, according to Members of the European Parliament Pascal Arimont and Christine Anderson, had violated competition laws. However, the investigation concluded with no irregularities found.
“Based on the limited information available to the Commission regarding the alleged barriers to the entry of new teams in Formula 1, the Commission is unable to assess whether such barriers are the result of anti-competitive behavior in violation of Article 101 and/or Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU,” said Margrethe Vestager, the European Commissioner for Competition since 2014, on the matter.
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“Therefore, the Commission does not currently intend to take any measures, nor to investigate the impact of the alleged barriers on innovation, employment, and the competitiveness of the automotive and motorsport sectors in the EU.”
“Nevertheless, we remain ready to examine any evidence of anti-competitive behavior that stakeholders may bring to our attention.”
We now just have to wait for an official statement.
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