The FIA has formally opened the application process to identify new teams looking to compete in Formula 1.
Any new entry would be able to join the grid in 2025 at the earliest, while successful applicants may also choose to join from 2026 or 2027.
The FIA says that it is seeking to identify “one or more” new teams amid a rise in the sport’s popularity.
In the application process, a new organisation looking to field a team must outline its “technical capabilities and resources”, as well its ability to “raise and maintain sufficient funding to allow participation in the Championship at a competitive level”.
As F1 also pushes towards becoming a sustainable sport and eliminating its carbon footprint, teams must also project “how it would manage the sustainability challenge and how it plans to achieve a net-zero CO2 impact by 2030”.
The decline for the submission of formal applications is set to be April 30 and a decision by the FIA on any applications will be made by June 30.
F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, as well as some current teams, have shown resistance to expanding the grid beyond 10 squads out of fear of diluting the end-of-year prize pot.
The FIA says that Liberty Media, the sport’s commercial rights holder, “may also impose additional selection criteria/conditions”.
Andretti has publicly announced its intentions to join the field and recently confirmed a partnership with General Motors that would see Cadillac join the field with it.
Audi has already signed up for the 2026 season in partnership with the Sauber Group, when new technical regulations are set to come into play.
“The growth and appeal of the FIA Formula One World Championship is at unprecedented levels,” said FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
“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.”
The sporting regulations currently outline that the number of teams that can compete up to and including the 2025 season is capped at 12.
With interest reportedly growing from several parties, the FIA says that existing F1 teams will be given priority over new applicants.
