According to Peter Windsor, Haas and Williams are the two teams most opposed to Andretti’s entry into Formula 1 in 2026, as the American giant awaits the final go-ahead from Liberty Media. Recently, FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem stated that the US-based team, which has received approval from the federation, could enter F1 even without reaching an agreement on commercial rights.
Haas and Williams are the main teams opposed to Andretti’s entry, according to Windsor. “It’s an exclusive club, and it won’t just be Toto Wolff and Christian Horner opposing Andretti, but others as well,” Windsor said through his YouTube channel.
“It’s more likely that it’s Gene Haas and Williams, who have fought long and hard to secure the franchises they have, paying a lot of money in the case of Dorilton. They don’t want to see the pie (prize money distribution) shrink due to the arrival of another team. The size of the pie slice is more crucial for these midfield teams or the top teams.”
“The Formula 1 business model requires that if you want to enter, you don’t reduce the pie slices but acquire an existing team. That’s what all existing teams want. I’m sure Red Bull would be happy to sell AlphaTauri to Michael Andretti for half a billion euros or 750 million and then let Michael do as he pleases.”
Windsor’s perspective is similar to that of David Dicker, the founder of Rodin Cars, one of the projects rejected by the FIA in the selection process. The only difference between the two views is that, according to the New Zealander, it would be sufficient to add a prize money share rather than dividing it among 11, while the British journalist recommends acquiring an existing team rather than adding a new one.
“The problem is that, of course, Andretti has the amount of money to acquire a team,” Windsor adds. “But he might think, ‘Why should I do it when I can create my team and do it my way, as I want? Why should I waste three-quarters of a billion buying it if the FIA has approved me anyway?'”
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“This will be the problem, and it’s not insurmountable because, in the end, an agreement will be reached. In my opinion, it will have to involve compensation for some teams, if not all, which will partly cover the money the teams will lose by having a new team. I don’t think the FIA has any role in all of this.”
Andretti’s potential entry would be more damaging to smaller teams, as the money received from prize money constitutes a significant portion of their overall revenue, unlike top teams that naturally have significantly higher budgets.
Before discussing potential dilution fees, Andretti will need to receive the final approval from Liberty Media. According to the current Concorde Agreement, theoretically, it’s allowed to expand the grid to 12 teams, but the existing teams are vehemently opposed to this.
Source: f1ingenerale
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