"What goes around comes around": Martin Brundle gives his take on Andretti's efforts to be the 11th F1 team

F1 commentator Martin Brundle recently gave his take on Andretti and their efforts of joining the sport as an 11th team.

Speaking on the Sky Sports Podcast, he said that F1 should not be too confident and that they should think on a longer-term basis. He gave an interesting analogy of how teams go through ups and downs during their time in the sport. Though all the teams are currently in a good position, Brundle reckons that they could suffer downfalls once again, as it is cyclical.

He said:

"I think Formula 1 must not be too confident, you got to think a little bit longer term...There are a number of other teams that were pretty shaky four or five years ago. We are now sitting with this magnificent position we find ourselves in where all the teams are solvent and doing good business and looking pretty professional. But let's not assume it's always going to stay like this. That circle, what goes around comes around on that."

Prior to this, he was surprised that nothing had been heard from the FIA and American team after the news broke about them being rejected by the FOM. He added that he would love to see the 11th and even 12th teams on the grid since it would bring in more cars and action to the F1.

"I'm very surprised we have not heard anything from the FIA or really from Andretti since that decision was made. I would personally like to see an 11th and even a 12th team on the grid. It's another two team managers to speak to and another four drivers and four cars to look at."

Back in October 2023, the team's bid to join the sport was approved by the FIA. However, on January 31 2024, F1 rejected the bid, ending their aim to race in 2025.

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F1 rejected Andretti's bid to enter the sport by 2025

On January 31, 2024, F1 released an official statement announcing that they had rejected Andretti's request to join the sport in 2025. In the statement, they wrote that an 11th team would not provide any value to the sport in terms of competitiveness.

Furthermore, they stated that though the Andretti name is massively famous in the F1 space, their research says that the sport would bring value to the name, rather than the other way round.

"Our assessment process has established that the presence of an 11th team would not, on its own, provide value to the Championship. The most significant way in which a new entrant would bring value is by being competitive. We do not believe that the Applicant would be a competitive participant."

It added:

"While the Andretti name carries some recognition for F1 fans, our research indicates that F1 would bring value to the Andretti brand rather than the other way around."

Following this the American team has responded, saying that they disagree with the sport's views.