P23 YOUR REACTIONS
FORMULA 1
Formula 1 has rejected Andretti’s proposal to form an 11th grand prix team. Four months after the American set-up’s application was approved by the FIA, the championship issued a 1400-word review outlining its “summary and conclusions of commercial assessment process”.
The series stated that an expanded grid would not add sufficient extra value since any new entrant would not be fighting for podiums and wins for several seasons. F1 also implied that a partnership with General Motors marque Cadillac would not immediately suffice since Andretti would still have to rely on a customer Renault engine – since it currently supplies the fewest teams – in its early years, which in turn raises concerns about intellectual property being shared. But it should be noted that Andretti did have an initial agreement with Renault, which suggests that this was not a major obstacle for the French manufacturer. F1 also reckons that most newcomer engine constructors have struggled to be successful “in the last several decades”. The argument surmises that F1 would offer more value to Andretti than Andretti can bring to F1.
Series chiefs also think Andretti would be overstretching its technical resources by building a car for 2025 only to start afresh the following year when major regulation changes come into effect. Damningly, an F1 statement read: “The fact that the applicant proposes to [enter both rulesets] gives us reason to question their understanding of the scope of the challenge involved.”
That point is seemingly undermined by Haas, the most recent addition to the grid, debuting in 2016 ahead of the shift to ‘wide cars’ the year after. It performed soundly across both campaigns with a handful of top-six results. It should be noted that since Haas’s arrival, the responsibility for dealing with new entries no longer falls primarily to the FIA. While Andretti satisfied the governing body’s criteria, the matter was then passed to Formula One Management.
Another argument put forward by F1 relates to lack of room for an extra team in many pitlanes and paddocks. The statement notes: “The addition of an 11th team would place an operational burden on race promoters, would subject some of them to significant costs, and would reduce the technical, operational and commercial spaces of the other competitors.”
F1 has seemingly
