The Formula One grid is not thrilled about the possible addition of Andretti Global and Cadillac to the sport, with a “strong majority” of teams reportedly objecting to the initiation of an 11th member to their ranks.
Andretti Global and General Motors, through its brand Cadillac, announced late last week that they would send the FIA an official “Expression of Interest” to begin the process of entering Formula One as soon as is practical. That announcement followed a tweet from FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem saying that the organizing body was looking into opening that process up.
In order for a new team to be added to the F1 grid, though, the decision needs to be agreed to by both the FIA and Formula One after the new entrant is assessed “by all relevant stakeholders” or, in other words, the race teams. A senior figure within one of the racing series’ team’s told Reuters recently that a “strong majority” of them are against expanding the grid.
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That is likely because the teams do not want another outfit coming in and taking a portion of the sport’s prize pot. While a new entrant would have to pay $200 million expansion fee to get on the paddock, the unnamed senior team official said that that figure is too low based on the sport’s current valuation.
That sentiment echoed comments made by Mercedes’s team boss, Toto Wolff, at the Miami Grand Prix last May. He claimed that the value of the sport was in its exclusivity, and that the sport shouldn’t dilute its own value by adding teams.
Formula One CEO Stefano Domenicali, meanwhile, said in September that expanding the paddock beyond 10 teams was “not a priority.” This all appears to conflict, though, with Ben Sulayem’s vision for the sport.
On Sunday, the official wrote that “it is surprising that there has been some adverse reaction” to the Cadillac and Andretti announcement. He added that smaller teams have joined the sport in the past, and that stakeholders “should be encouraging prospective F1 entries from global manufacturers like @GM and thoroughbred racers like Andretti and others.”
Reuter’s nameless source, though, accused Cadillac’s interest in the sport of largely being a “branding exercise.” With the formal process for expressions of interest not even having opened yet, this is a rocky start for Andretti Global and GM.