I don’t think it would make sense, Alfa Romeo boss says of the possibility of an 11th team entering F1

It’s been six months since former American racing driver Micheal Andretti, son of 1978 F1 champion Mario Andretti, applied to the FIA to register his new team for the queen of motorsport from the 2024 season.

The current owner of Andretti Autosport is convinced that the new stable will only benefit the sport. Fans would certainly welcome the new two monoposts on the grid. But opposition is being heard from the current stable.

Earlier, Toto Wolff expressed his concerns about another team “like Williams” that will be two seconds behind the others. However, Andretti assured him that they have the resources and ambition to fight for the race win.

F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali was also sceptical. “I believe it is important to preserve the value of the existing teams because it can really make a difference in their sustainability.”

Finances are the main reason why Andretti is facing resistance. After each season, the prize money is split between all the stables and the arrival of an 11th team would mean that amount would be divided into even smaller chunks.

“If there had been eleven teams three years ago, two or three teams would have gone out of business. And once one went bankrupt, it would have been like dominoes, ” Alfa Romeo boss Frédéric Vasseur told Racer.

“When we talked about the 11th team three years ago, we took Porsche as an example and said that if someone like Porsche wanted to join F1 and do things their own way, it made sense to open the door for them. Itwould add significant value to the paddock and it would be another engine manufacturer.“

“I don’t want to talk about Andretti because it’s not personal, but to add another team that does the same thing as the others without any added value; I don’t think it makes sense these days,” Vasseur added.

The 45-year-old Frenchman also doesn’t like the argument that an American team will lure more overseas fans and sponsors. “One of the biggest markets for Formula 1 today is the Netherlands and we don’t have a Dutch team, we have a Dutch driver.”

But the actual decision to bring in a new team is not up to the team bosses, but to the FIA and F1. We can only hope that Andretti convinces the representatives of both organisations that his project has something to give to the Queen of Motorsport, and we will see two brand new cars on the grid.

Source:: Racer