Guenther Steiner (ITA) Haas F1 Team Prinicipal. 21.07.2023. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 12, Hungarian Grand Prix, Budapest, Hungary, Practice Day. – www.xpbimages.com, EMail: [email protected] © Copyright: Bearne / XPB Images
Haas Team Principal Guenther Steiner is staunchly against the introduction of new teams to the series, stating that any changes could pose a risk to the long-term stability of the sport.
F1 and the FIA are currently assessing submissions from prospective teams to determine whether any candidates would be a suitable addition to the grid.
Any successful applicants would be able to join the competition from 2025 onwards, with Andretti Cadillac and Hitech Grand Prix currently looking to be the most likely arrivals if any are approved.
Whilst F1 and the FIA are open to more teams joining the grid, there has been vocal opposition from incumbent team bosses, with Steiner becoming the latest to voice his concerns.
“You have 10 very stable teams which are all technically stable, financially stable,” the Austrian told media ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix.
“If you put another team in and maybe somebody gets in jeopardy in three or four years time, maybe only eight or nine teams will be left,” he warned.
Guenther Steiner (ITA) Haas F1 Team Prinicipal on the grid. 04.06.2023. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 8, Spanish Grand Prix, Barcelona, Spain, Race Day. – www.xpbimages.com, EMail: [email protected] © Copyright: Batchelor / XPB Images
“The business is run by FOM and they need to make sure that this is sustainable.
“At the moment we are at the peak. Formula 1 is growing and there is never an end to it. We could have 56 races in a year and 22 teams in a year, and [everyone] would be happy.
“I think we made big growths in the last year. [Now], it is very stable. We have ten very good teams and if you change something, you could go the other way.
“If you do too much and the teams aren’t stable anymore, what would you achieve then?
“You’ll be sitting here in three years saying you’ve lost a team because it went bankrupt.”
When challenged over his pessimism, Steiner doubled down on his comments saying: “If you look back in history, I think we are in a very good moment – it was never as good as now, we never had 10 stable teams.
“So if all of a sudden it could be 12… F1 is a pretty old sport and there were never 10 good teams.
“There was a business plan from FOM to get us to this place. This didn’t happen by accident. There were deeds done, agreements and a lot of work was done.
“[With] their plan, they don’t want to risk it, what they are doing, by admitting more [teams] for no good reason.
Keyword: New F1 teams would risk long-term stability, warns Steiner