If Andretti were to receive approval from Liberty Media and enter Formula 1 in 2026, the existing teams would be forced to divide the prize money among 11, resulting in significant economic losses. To counter this, the federation imposes that the entering team pays a dilution fee of 200 million dollars. However, many teams consider this amount too low and propose at least triple the current sum.
How much would the teams lose if Andretti were to enter Formula 1 in 2026?
“A team principal told me that existing teams would lose 11 million dollars annually by splitting the pie into 11 slices,” said Karun Chandhok, a former Formula 1 driver and current commentator for Sky Sports. “If Andretti is willing to pay 600 million dollars to compensate the teams, this would cover them for 5 years.”
What the Indian commentator stated represents the main reason for the strong opposition of the current teams to a potential entry of an eleventh team.
According to some estimates, the prize money to be distributed in 2023, based on the previous year’s standings, would have a total value of over 900 million dollars, out of a total Formula 1 prize fund of approximately 2.2 billion dollars.
Clearly, this motivation alone would not be sufficient for Liberty Media to reject Andretti’s final candidacy, as the American team has officially met all the requirements set out in the tender. Therefore, the commercial rights holders of Formula 1 will have to find valid reasons to disapprove the American team, which is anything but straightforward.
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The federation, for example, found itself obligated to approve the proposal due to an old European Union regulation dating back to 2000, which states that “the FIA is obliged to approve applications that meet the requirements.”
The risk now becomes a potential standoff that could last for months, with teams pushing not to expand the grid in 2026. Even Liberty Media is opposed to Andretti’s entry into the top category, as repeatedly expressed by CEO Stefano Domenicali.
“We take note of the FIA’s conclusions and statements in relation to the first and second phases of the application process,” Liberty Media stated. “We will now assess whether the remaining request is meritorious.”
Source: f1ingenerale
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