Mario Andretti, 1978 world champion, wonders why the FIA and Formula 1 are so slow to open the door to a new team that his son Michael, a former racing driver turned successful entrepreneur, whose business interests range from IndyCar to Extreme E electric series, plans to launch and Formula E.
Toto Wolff, the head of the Mercedes AMG F1 team, spoke in part about the reasons for this approach, and Frederic Vasser, head of the Swiss company Sauber Motorsport, whose team competes as Alfa Romeo in the championship, agrees.
“When we talked about the eleventh team three years ago, we took Porsche as an example,” the French manager recalled in an interview with Racer. – We said then: “Okay, imagine if a company like Porsche wants to come into Formula 1 with its own project – does it make sense that we open the door for them?”
In such a situation, we will say, “Yes, of course!” Because the arrival of another engine manufacturer will significantly increase the cost of the championship – moreover, remember that we were all in a precarious economic position at the time. That’s why we started talking about the fact that we can open the doors for a new team.
I don’t want to discuss the Andretti project because there is nothing personal about my attitude towards it. But if just another team shows up in Formula 1, just like the rest, it won’t increase the cost of the championship. Not sure if that makes sense now.
Moreover, such a team can start in two or three years and we do not know what the situation will be in two or three years. If there were 11 teams in the championship two or three years ago, I think two or three would have gone bankrupt. As soon as a team leaves, the events develop according to the domino principle.
Ultimately, the decision will depend on the leadership of Formula 1 and the FIA. But I’m not ready to support a positive decision because I know the road we’ve all come. Let’s put it this way: if we had more information about this American project, and we were convinced that he could give a lot to Formula 1, I would still agree.
But I don’t think the value of the project is in any way related to the national identity of the team. Now the Netherlands has become one of the biggest markets for Formula 1, but we don’t have a Dutch team, we have a Dutch driver.”
Source: F1 News
I’m Todderic Kirkman, a journalist and author for athletistic. I specialize in covering all news related to sports, ranging from basketball to football and everything in between. With over 10 years of experience in the industry, I have become an invaluable asset to my team. My ambition is to bring the most up-to-date information on sports topics around the world.
