The Latest Breaking News from FIA

Behind polesitter Max Verstappen, who will land his third title if he scores three points in the Saturday sprint race at Losail, Mercedes drivers George Russell and Hamilton snared second and third place in Friday night qualifying for the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix.

Andretti’s plans took a step closer to becoming a reality when the team was approved by the FIA, and it now falls to the F1 organisation and its owner Liberty to assess the commercial position of the potential new entrant.

The FIA announced this week that the Andretti project had passed the first two phases of the entry process, having been approved by the governing body.

The FIA announced this week that the Andretti project had passed the first two phases of the entry process, having been approved by the governing body.

With testing so limited in F1, teams have often had to use filming days as a way of shaking down new cars prior to any official group running.

The British manufacturer will remain involved in the GT3 and GT4 classes for the foreseeable future, it was announced on the launch of the Valkyrie programme on Wednesday. 

And while there remain some big challenges ahead, because Andretti still needs to agree a commercial deal with FOM to be allowed to race, it is the closest F1 has had to a new team entrant for a while.

Ever since the Italian Grand Prix last month, the FIA has been refining its approach to the inherent difficulties of slow cars in qualifying causing problems for cars on quick laps.

This may yet be the most difficult challenge yet for Andretti; although it has proven to the FIA that it has merit on sporting, technical, and financial grounds, thrashing out a deal with FOM will be tough given that the existing 10 teams will put the championship under pressure.