F1 News: McLaren CEO Addresses Formula One Anti-American Claims After Andretti Refusal

McLaren CEO Zak Brown has strongly dismissed allegations of an anti-American bias within Formula One following Andretti Global's unsuccessful bid to join the championship for the 2025 or 2026 seasons.

Andretti's F1 entry proposal was officially turned down for 2025 or 2026, though a 2028 entry would be considered if its General Motors partner, under the Cadillac branding, provided the power units. Amid strong support from certain U.S. Congress members and a backdrop of skepticism among existing F1 teams and international automotive firms, the scenario raises questions about competition fairness and possible anti-trust issues. Meanwhile, the FIA suggested that Andretti might explore acquiring an existing team—a venture previously considered with Sauber.

Brown commented on some of the backlash which has stemmed from Formula One Management's rejection of Andretti Global. He explained to ESPN:

"I don't think there's an anti-American culture within Formula One at all.

"When you look at the sport, you've got European manufacturers, you've got Ford from North America, you've got Honda from Japan. So the sport is extremely global. I've never come across any favouritism or negativity towards any region of the world. The whole world participates in Formula One."

He continued:

"As it relates to America, Liberty's American; we've gone from one race to three races in America, including the single largest investment Formula One has ever made in anything, in Vegas. You have Ford, who have recently entered the sport. You have myself running one of the top teams in the sport. You have Netflix, which has been fantastic for the sport globally but specifically North America. And now on the tail end of that we have Brad Pitt, who's going to do a global movie that is U.S.-based, which will do wonders for the sport.

"I think what Liberty has done for the sport is amazing. If you look at what we needed to do for the sport, we needed cost controls; we have it now, and it's producing the closest grid in the history of Formula One.

"I'm sympathetic to the frustrations [of Andretti], ... but the 'Formula One isn't welcoming America' ... I think it's unfortunate that the root of the issue [has moved away from being] between Andretti and Formula One and adding value."

Brown also mentioned the cautious approach by Liberty Media in vetting new teams, recalling past failures that damaged the sport's competitive integrity. The McLaren boss added:

"Our assessment process has established that the presence of an 11th team would not, on its own, provide value to the Championship.

"Historically in Formula One, it was enter, show up and the sport didn't care if you didn't make it halfway through a year. So in the past you had Lola start a team and they go bust after three races. I think Liberty is now in a position where you've got 10 very healthy teams, so they're going to hold an 11th and 12th team to the extreme highest criteria and extreme due diligence, which I think is right.

"Previously there was always a team going bust next year. Now you have over half the grid is profitable. And these franchise values, I think Williams was bought for $150 million, I don't think five years later you can buy that team for less than a billion and a half. So the value creation has been immense."