In the FIA vs Formula 1 battle, Helmut Marko, Red Bull’s current advisor and consultant, steps in with a brilliant idea: “Andretti should buy Alpine.” While the president of the international federation continues his standoff with Formula One, shouting, “Not ten, eleven, even twelve,” and the latter is entrenched in the “10 and not more 10,” hinting at an apocalypse, suddenly Helmut Marko appears with a proposal for mediation. Yes, him!
Can you see him with an olive branch in one hand? Certainly, but in the other hand, hidden behind his back, he will have a nice big knife, which, okay, let’s be good, but not fools! Aside from the jokes due to F1’s current summer break, Helmut Marko’s proposal is indeed not trivial. Meanwhile, his words (given to Sport1) are as follows: “Buying Alpine would be the best thing for everyone. Formula 1 would keep its 10 teams, Andretti could finally enter, and Renault could still be involved.”
The immediate objection that comes to mind is that if no one has thought of it already, it’s evidently not feasible. There are, in fact, two variables to consider regarding this suggestive hypothesis. First: who says that Renault would want to exit so abruptly as a loser by selling everything? They could return to a synergy, becoming co-owners of the team and PU suppliers, but you know how Renault is. They’re not accustomed to losing. And with their palmares, albeit dusty, they have every reason.
Second: the son of Piedone Andretti already has an alliance with Chrysler to enter as a new team. This is the current scenario. As we have already written and recalled, it all revolves around money. With the new Concorde Agreement in effect, the golden plate that F1 leaves for the teams will not change in its total. So if a new team enters, the slice for each becomes thinner. Hence the “no” from Domenicali, which in this case represents all ten current teams in Formula 1.
FIA vs F1: Marko’s Stroke of Genius
And precisely to discourage new teams (or partially refund the other existing teams), a dedicated fee of $200 million has been introduced. The position of the federation’s president, on the other hand, is opposite, and Mohammed Ben Sulayem has come forward to have one or two more teams in F1, with strong arguments, by the way. The president reminded that the possibility of having new teams is explicitly provided by the regulations and that the FIA must be an arbitrator and act as such.
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The president’s words: “The FIA, as the regulatory body, must examine all requests, and we have done so. The expression of interest was the right thing to do. I know some teams are not happy, as I see the financial impact this would have on them,” and he adds: “Is it about adding a team or buying an existing one? It’s not up to me to impose on the big teams. But what we must do is respect the process, the financial and technical due diligence.”
Now, here comes Helmut Marko’s intrusion with his proposal/provocation/suggestion, which will probably remain just that. Meanwhile, Stefano Domenicali, as a seasoned Christian Democrat, after the “stick” phase, is in the “carrot” phase and speaks very conciliatory words towards the FIA: “We will find an agreement together because the value of the teams and Formula 1 is very, very high in this era.” In any case, in a few weeks, the puzzle will be clarified.
Source: Mariano Froldi for FUnoanalisitecnica
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