Ferrari chief Fred Vasseur claims Formula 1 can thrive without 11th team and rejects Andretti’s American roots as insufficient.
Andretti, one of the prominent contenders expressing interest in joining the Formula 1 grid, awaits a decision on their potential entry along with other contenders. Existing teams, facing potential financial impacts, have emphasized the need for any new entrant to bring substantial value to the series, a sentiment shared by F1 chief executive officer Stefano Domenicali.
While Andretti has partnered with Cadillac to utilize a Renault power unit, Frederic Vasseur argues that solely presenting the project as distinctly American falls short of meeting the requirements.
“My position is that the 10 teams that made huge efforts even when it was tough to be on the grid, and to survive for some of them, now that if we have to welcome another team, it has to be for mega good reasons,” he explained – “The fact that you have an American team is not a good reason. Because for me, first, we have an American team, thanks to Haas. And the second one is that if you want to be at the top in the country, it’s a matter of drivers. Have a look at what’s happened in the Netherlands. It’s the biggest success of the world today, and they don’t have a team, they have Max. I think first, we have a good success in the US. If you want to increase the success in the US, it’s more a matter for me to have an American driver. It’s not about the team.” – the Frenchman explained.
When quizzed whether he would change his opinion if a big manufacturer team wanted to join the sport, the Ferrari team principal explained: “I have to say it again, that we made collectively a big effort. If someone wants to join now, it has to be also to the benefit of everybody in the paddock. It means that they have to bring something to F1. I don’t think that the nationality of the team is an asset.” – he pointed out.
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At the same time, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner admitted to being sceptical regarding Cadillac’s involvement in the potential Andretti project: “GM is a great brand, but what I’m interested in is what is their model?” Horner said. “I don’t assume they’re going to go and build a facility like [ours]. I assume it’s a badging exercise.” – Christian Horner added.
The Red Bull boss was also asked if the Andretti project can be compared to the Ford/Red Bull Powertrains partnership, the Austrian replied: “Yes, but Ford, they’re not pretending to be an entrant in Formula 1. GM are associated with Andretti at the moment, who currently don’t have an entry. Now, the FIA will run their process. I think, as with all these things, you’ve got the logistical issue of how to accommodate the 11th team. But the reality is what it really boils down to is, who’s going to pay for it? And if it dilutes the existing 10, of course, they’re going to have an issue with it. Liberty are not going to want to dilute their element of the income. So that’s where you end up at a stand-off.” – he concluded.
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