Team principal says, 'Why would we share the pie with more people?'
Bryn Lennon – Formula 1Getty Images- A group headed by Michael Andretti announced plans earlier in 2022 to enter Formula 1 in 2024.
- Several teams, along with Formula 1 itself, has been resistant to Andretti’s plans and there has been no indication that an entry will be granted.
- It last had 11 teams in 2016, the year in which Haas debuted, and after which Manor collapsed and withdrew from competition.
Haas F1 team principal Guenther Steiner says Formula 1 is in a healthy position, and it does not need to chase the possibility of any new entrants.
And that goes for Michael Andretti’s current bid to enter a team in 2024.
Formula 1 has had 10 teams throughout Liberty Media’s ownership of the championship. It last had 11 teams in 2016, the year in which Haas debuted, and after which minnow outfit Manor collapsed and withdrew from competition. No official process for new teams has been opened in that period though a group led by Michael Andretti announced plans earlier in 2022 to enter the sport from 2024.
Michael Andretti wants a piece of that F1 pie, but many in Formula 1 aren’t in a sharing mood.
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Several teams, along with Formula 1 itself, has been resistant to Andretti’s plans and there has been no indication that an entry will be granted.
As part of an entry of a new franchise, an anti-dilution fund, whereby any new entrant has to pay $200 million distributed equally among the 10 existing teams, was introduced into the Concorde Agreement in 2020. All teams also receive a share of Formula 1’s revenue, along with prize money, which has increased amid the recent growth of the championship and recovery since the pandemic.
“I wouldn’t say I’m opposed (to Andretti’s potential entry), I think just in general in Formula 1 we have to always see what we have got at the moment,” Steiner told Autoweek. “We have 10 very solid teams now—very few times, if ever, it happened in Formula 1. So why would we need somebody more to come in, with all the promises and all the risks which comes with that, and if we have one more team there are more problems.
“… why would we share the pie with more people?”
“At the moment there is no need for it, and if there is nothing actually valuable to Formula 1 (in adding another team) why would we share the pie with more people? And I think that is almost every team’s opinion about it, it’s FOM opinion about it, if there is no clear advantage to have an 11th team we are good with 10 teams. They are solid, why would we risk the 10 solid teams just to have 11? The sport’s in a good place.”
When it was put to Steiner that another team would mean more opportunities for drivers, engineers, mechanics and so on, he replied: “But you risk other teams and then it could be less again, because it is diluting everything.
“The 10 teams which are here are here a long time. We are the youngest and we’ve been here seven years. You don’t want to be diluted if there’s no upside to it.”
Keyword: Haas' Steiner: F1 Does Not Need New Teams, and That Includes Michael Andretti