FIA officially open applications for new F1 teams and reveal new requirements

Henry Valantine
FIA flag on display at the F1 Dutch Grand Prix. Netherlands, September 2022. Budget cap Red Bull

FIA flag on display at the Dutch Grand Prix. Netherlands, September 2022.

The FIA has officially announced the opening of its application process for new “entities with a serious intent to enter Formula 1”, to join the grid in the future.

Following on from FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem saying a new ‘expressions of interest’ process will take place for prospective new teams to stake their claim to join Formula 1, the governing body has now opened its application window to do so.

The FIA say the process for judging applications will involve “thorough due diligence”, including the “technical capabilities and resources of the applicant team, the ability of the team to raise and maintain sufficient funding to allow participation in the Championship at a competitive level and the team’s experience and human resources.”

Alongside this, prospective teams will also have to show how they are able to commit to Formula 1’s sustainability target of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 as another condition of entry, in order to meet the “mutual aims” of both the FIA and Formula One Management (FOM).

In the FIA’s announcement, they confirmed that the maximum number of teams on the grid would be capped at 12, meaning two new teams would be accepted at most under this process – barring any other constructors dropping out of the sport, and they “anticipate” a deadline of Sunday 30 April for formal applications, in time for a decision from the FIA by 30 June.

They also indicated that they would be looking at their new entrants, if approved, to join the grid from the 2025, 2026 or 2027 season onwards.

This announcement will officially allow the Andretti-Cadillac joint bid to submit their interest in becoming a Formula 1 team in future, with Michael Andretti and General Motors having announced their partnership in the days following the announcement that entries from new teams would be allowed.

PlanetF1.com recommends

Exclusive: Panthera also pushing for F1 spot, will build Asian academy and aiming for 2026 launch
FIA President continues his campaign to see Andretti and GM join the F1 grid
Revealed: The top 10 drivers with the most F1 points without a win

Benjamin Durand, chief executive of the Panthera Team Asia project also spoke exclusively to PlanetF1.com and set out their intentions to also file a bid to reach the Formula 1 grid in the aftermath of the governing body looking to expand the grid.

FIA president Ben Sulayem said: “The growth and appeal of the FIA Formula One World Championship is at unprecedented levels. The FIA believes the conditions are right for interested parties, which meet the selection criteria, to express a formal interest in entering the Championship.

“For the first time ever, as part of the selection conditions, we are requesting that candidates set out how they would meet the FIA’s sustainability benchmarks and how they would make a positive societal impact through sport.

“The process is a logical extension of the positive acceptance of the FIA’s 2026 F1 Power Unit Regulations from engine manufacturers which has attracted Audi to Formula 1 and created interest among other potential entrants.”

There is no guarantee that future entrants would be accepted by Formula 1 and its current teams, however, with the sport itself reminding the FIA in the wake of its announcement that new teams must receive the approval of both FOM and the governing body, as well as the current teams themselves, as per the current Concorde Agreement.

If accepted, new entrants must also pay a $200m entry fee to the existing teams on the grid, to offset any dilution of prize money as a result of another constructor being added to the grid.

Several team bosses have spoken out against the idea of another team joining Formula 1, given the financial success the sport is currently enjoying and the profits the current teams are making – though Andretti has spoken previously about finding “allies” in McLaren and Alpine, who back his arrival onto the grid.

The FIA’s announcement also insists that “the overall long-term interests of the Championship, involving all stakeholders, will determine which candidates are selected.”