OPINION: F1 should welcome the new Andretti team

So what would a new team bring to F1?

On a basic level, a new team creates new jobs, it opens up two brand new seats for two new drivers to sit in. It puts two more cars onto the track, cars that in the right circumstances will add to the competition, the spectacle and the show.

As long as the cars are competitive, I can see absolutely zero argument against having more of them lining up on the grid. It’s only in the past seven years or so that having ten teams on the grid has been considered acceptable. I remember when the number of F1 teams first dropped to ten in 2009, it was considered a disaster that the field would be so thin. It was that very response that led to the introduction of the three new teams in 2010, made all the more desperate by Toyota’s withdrawal at the end of the 2009 season.

Having just 20 cars racing in F1 has always felt like the bare minimum, and indeed under the current Concorde Agreement the rules are written to accomodate a 24-car grid. The current field just feels restricted, with limited opportunities for new drivers and very little variety as the status quo in the past few years has proven near enough impossible to overcome.

The same ten teams turn up to testing at the beginning of each year and tell the same story year after year. Surely it’s time for a new chapter?

There are of course a number of fairly substantial provisos to all of this. Any new F1 team that does arrive on the grid needs to be up to the task. As it turned out, none of the new additions in 2010 were suitable candidates, rather victims of a rushed process that didn’t carry out due diligence on either financial or engineering capability.

Andretti is the right name and the right operation

In the case of the proposed Andretti outfit, this certainly seems like a far more appropriate addition to the F1 circus than we’ve seen for a long time. Not only would we see the name of a beloved champion return to contemporary F1 lore, that name would be returning in a team that forms just a small part of a global racing operation that has achieved success in IndyCar, Formula E and the IMSA Sportscar Championship. It’ll also have the not insignificant backing of General Motors, one of the largest automotive manufacturers in the world, and its Cadillac brand.

So there seems to be no question of Andretti’s capability to run a Formula 1 team, nor indeed to build a competitive car, while its global status and substantial backing suggest there would be no trouble getting the finances straight either. So what’s not to like?

Well, unfortunately, with many things these days, it all comes down to money. Money that many of the existing ten F1 teams would rather keep for themselves. One of the major arguments against Andretti being accepted into the F1 circle is to do with the dilution of money that for the last few years has been split ten ways. F1 has a finite prize pot it can set aside each year, and adding an extra recipient will reduce the percentage takings across the board. In a sport that is governed by money, there aren’t many shareholders particularly keen on the idea of reducing the value of their assets. If F1 was a contest of fiscal strategy, this would be an acceptable argument.

It's a shame, but that is basically all that stands between Andretti getting in and the F1 grid remaining locked at 20 cars. Formula One Management (FOM), the organisation that runs the sport, has a duty of care to its teams. While there is no doubt an opportunity to grow with an eleventh team, especially one that would open a huge door to a rapidly expanding American market, the risk of upsetting one or more of its existing cohort is one that is clearly weighing heavily.

Stroll: “I think ten teams is the right amount on the grid

Stefano Domenicali, CEO of Formula One Group, has so far remained tight-lipped on any potential outcome from this process. This is clearly a very challenging subject that is going to require no small amount of diplomacy to navigate unscathed. It does at least appear as though the powers that be do have the tools at their disposal to try and forge a resolution. However it won't be without some fierce opposition from some big voices in the paddock.

Williams Team Principal, James Vowles, has been outspoken, eloquently so, in his arguments against an eleventh team. He points to the fact that many of the current teams are loss-making, and that adding another outfit would exacerbate the problem. He's not against Andretti per se, rather the timing of its attempts to get in on the action.

Lawrence Stroll, owner of the Aston Martin F1 team, was asked about Andretti’s bid during Aston’s announcement that the Valkyrie will race at Le Mans in 2025. He said: “Andretti has the green light from the FIA. He also needs permission from FOM. He’s far from the full green light. I think ten teams is the right amount on the grid.”

“The business [F1] is on fire, the sport’s never been in a better place. There’s never been more fans or spectators, the audience is the highest it’s ever been.”

He even touches on F1’s growth in the US, which will host three races in 2024, so as almost to prove the point that F1 doesn’t need Andretti to make progress across the pond. He has a point, but I think this is a disappointingly closed-minded interpretation of what’s happening.

F1 isn’t broken, far from it, but it’s not perfect either, and it’s concerning to think that the teams believe they’re in a position to close the shop. There should always be room for fresh competition when it shows itself. Andretti is clearly keen to extend its empire into the world of F1, and who are the likes of Stroll to deny them?

It’s been refreshing to see an alternative view held by many of the drivers at this weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix, the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso offer a more open-minded voice to the conversation.

And let’s say for a moment that Andretti comes in and rocks the boat? We haven’t had a genuinely new contender for regular wins in F1 since 2009. I’m not saying this new team will turn up and pull a Brawn GP, but how do we know if we simply close the door? By the same token, it’s true that the team could flop and fall out of the sport within three years. Somehow, I don’t see a team with as much experience as Andretti suffering that fate.

At the end of all of this, the decision FOM makes will be led primarily by the commercial ramifications of the issue. If it finds the sport of F1 will be better off for the addition of Andretti, then it’s more than likely we will see a grid of 22 cars lining up in the not-too-distant future.

Images courtesy of Motorsport Images