Andretti’s bid to enter F1 has caused uproar in the paddock among team bosses.
The FIA have accepted their entry bid, a major step towards Andretti becoming the 11th team on the Formula 1 grid.
Sky’s David Croft explained the process: “It’s all about the money, honey, when it comes to F1!
“500-odd pages from Andretti to the FIA which shows that on sustainability, sporting, diversity grounds, they should have a place on the grid for 2025 or 2026.
“They’ve proved to the governing body that they’ve got the wherewithal and the means to go racing.
“But now it’s convincing the commercial rights holder and the 10 other teams that they won’t be disadvantaged by an 11th team coming through.
“At the moment, the teams receive a pay-out from Liberty in terms of prize money. The better teams get more, the team who finishes bottom gets less.
“They manage it, they know what’s coming, it’s signed and sealed in a Concorde agreement which controls the financial and commercial side to F1.
“But when you’re a member of an exclusive club who’s doing okay, paying the staff and the bills, and you can afford to go racing, someone else coming in to dilute that pot of money risks all that investment and hard work that you’ve put in going to nothing, and you not being able to afford to compete in the future.
“That’s what we’re talking about here – the dilution of the prize money pot. How does that work for the commercial rights holder and the 10 other teams?
“There’s a $200m figure that’s being bandied around as a dilution figure.
“But the teams are saying: ‘Hang on, since we agreed on that $200m, the sport has grown, we’ve got a better asset now, anyone coming in should be paying more, maybe $600m which has been suggested, to compensate us for the growth that has taken place since the current Concorde agreement was fine’.
“This is the starting point for the negotiation.”
“One F1 team boss told me ‘we are not happy'”
Sky’s Craig Slater pointed out: “The Concorde agreement runs out at the end of 2025. So that $200m could be revised upwards if Andretti don’t get this over the line, before then.
“In basic terms, you’re asking commercial bosses at these teams to take a revenue cut. “Will some of them say: ‘Where were Andretti five or six years ago when the sport wasn’t doing so well? We’ve suffered, we don’t need the extra revenue taken away’.”
Crofty replied: “I think they will. They will argue that they’ve put their money where their mouth is – but they’ve had the opportunity to do that.
“In my lifetime as an F1 commentator we’ve had new teams come in. Max Mosely with the £40m idea to go racing didn’t quite work. Marussia, HRT, Hispania Racing came to the grid but have since fallen by the wayside.
“From a sporting side I’d love to see another team on the grid. I’d love to see more opportunities for drivers who are capable of driving in F1.
“More opportunity for female drivers because, at the moment, 20 seats isn’t enough for the talent base that’s out there.
“But I’ve not put my money into running an F1 team!
“One team boss said to me: ‘We are not really happy with how Andretti have gone about getting into F1, we are not overly keen on the way that they’ve forced the issue publically, this hasn’t been a private conversation or matter, it has all played out in the glare of the spotlight’.
“Mario Andretti told us that at the first Miami Grand Prix ‘we are ready to go racing now’ and he came into our commentary box during a practice session!
“I think there was a resistance because of the upfront nature of the Andretti bid. But also a fear that their hard work and investment will not pay off in the way that they projected because another team is diluting the pot.”
How Andretti could convince rival teams
Slater asked: “Could fan pressure play a part?”
Crofty answered: “Fan pressure played a part in the Super League not going through in football, this might work in a reverse way.
“The negotiations will reach a positive outcome for Andretti Racing if the team bosses and commercial rights holder can be convinced that having a team based in America, with facilities in America, if that grows the commercial pot (because ever team talks about the commercial opportunities in America), that will put a positive spin on the story.
“I don’t know what fans think. I’d like to see another team on the grid. I’m sure there will be vocal support from fans saying ‘we want variety’.
“But it all comes down to money, fan pressure is only a small part of any resolution for Andretti Racing.
“That probably is the case. $200m once was a fair dilution figure. $600m seems like a lot of money but it might not be, given the investment and value of the current franchises.
“They are not all making money, remember that. Aston Martin last week published a loss for last year.
“If Andretti can negotiate an acceptable figure, I’d love to see another team in F1.”
Keyword: Explained: Andretti’s $600m issue to join F1 - and how to solve it