Andretti's 11th F1 team bid won't be successful, predicts former McLaren driver

Former McLaren F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya claims Michael Andretti's bid to become the sport's 11th team will not be successful. The Colombian racing legend believes the American team should try and purchase a pre-existing team instead of joining as an entirely new entity.

The Andretti name has faced sufficient resistance from other teams on its way to becoming the 11th team on the grid. The team started the new year off with a coalition with the Cadillac brand from American giants General Motors, who hope to enter the single-seater racing class together. While Andretti faces opposition from the sport and the FIA, he and his team are adamant that they have met every requirement the body mandates.

Former Williams and McLaren driver Juan Pablo Montoya, however, believes the team should take an Audi-like approach and buy a pre-existing team instead of entering on their own. Speaking to the French wing of Motorsport, the Colombian F1 legend said:

"I would love to see them on the grid, but that’s not going to happen. Unless they can buy someone else out. I don’t see an extra team coming in. It’s a shame, but it’s difficult to convince everyone. If they’re so determined to get into F1, they could probably buy a structure like Alpine. Personally, if it’s about having an extra seat, I think it’s very unlikely. I believe it should be more like what Audi did."

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This isn't the first time F1 snubbed the Andretti name

Mario Andretti hopes to become F1's latest entrant but has faced decent backlash from other teams regarding his team's potential future in the sport. However, this isn't the first time the sport has snubbed the Andretti name.

The American driver could have made his debut in the sport at the 1986 F1 Canadian GP. The American Haas team (not related to the one on the grid today) needed a replacement following Patrick Tambay's heavy crash during the warmup session.

Mario Andretti's son, Michael Andretti, was the perfect man for the occasion, having won the Formula Super Vee and Formula Mondial series'. The driver was then driving in the highly-esteemed CART series and could easily be the man to replace Tambay in Canada.

However, F1's former governing body, the FISA, denied Andretti a super license, which is needed to enter the sport. While the FIA currently has a points-based system that dictates who will be issued a super license, things were a lot more informal back in the day.

As a result, a less experienced Canadian racer, Allen Berg, replaced Tambay that weekend, leading to heartbreak for Mario Andretti's son.

Michael Andretti had to wait seven more years for a debut with McLaren. By then, the driver had clinched many more CART victories and even managed to win the title in 1991. It is still unclear whether we will see the Andretti name in the sport in 2026.