Formula 1 is experiencing a moment of prosperity after overcoming the pandemic in the last few years, which has forced the top management of the sport to make painful choices including postponing the debut of the new ground-effect cars by even one season.
The Grands Prix are registering record after record in terms of public turnout and revenue is clearly growing to the delight of Liberty Media, but not necessarily of the Formula 1 teams, which, having not bought shares at the right time, now have to settle only for a fixed share which was established in the midst of the pandemic when the income obviously wasn’t so flourishing.
With this in min, the decision made by the FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem to take into consideration the interest expressed by new teams who intend to enter Formula 1 has not been welcomed with great enthusiasm – to put it mildly – by those who are already part of Formula 1. In fact, Andretti has reached an agreement with General Motors-Cadillac also to bring to the sport a ‘great Manufacturer’ and therefore certify the positive aspects of his intentions to enter Formula 1. The Panthera Asia Team has also already communicated its intention to restart the organizational structure and dreams of racing in the most important motorsport series.
Despite the fact that we are talking about a brand that has been ‘racing’ for generations like the Andretti family, several members of the paddock already in 2022 had expressed their concerns regarding the possibility that the American family would enter Formula 1. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, for example, had no hesitation in distinguishing between the benefits that the sport received from the entry of a big manufacturer such as Audi compared to the possible arrival of Andretti.
Show your support for Scuderia Ferrari with official merchandise collection! Click here to enter the F1 online Store and shop securely! And also get your F1 tickets for every race with VIP hospitality and unparalleled insider access. Click here for the best offers to support Charles and Carlos from the track!
According to reports by the Reuters news agency, a senior executive of a team has confided that a large majority of the current Formula 1 teams are against the expansion of the starting grid with the consequent decrease of revenues. According to this source, the General Motors and Andretti operation does not go beyond the simple use of a brand name to be applied to material supplied by other companies. Furthermore, most of the starting grid believe the $200m entry fee is too low compared to Formula 1’s current value. In short, the message is clear: adding a seat at the table, for teams, is out of the question.
Leave a Reply