Might not a true American team, with at least one American driver, add to the popularity? Popularity is profitable. A possible answer: F1 is booming in North America right now, with three races: Circuit of the Americas, Miami, and soon Las Vegas, in the U.S. If a team comes in, how can you demonstrate that you're bringing in more money than it’s actually costing, because the 11th team means a 10% dilution for everybody else?”įair question. I mean, each of the organizations sitting here on the podium has probably put more than a billion into Formula 1 projects over the years, so it needs to be accretive. We have invested considerable amounts over the last 10 years. Wolff explains that: “We have 10 entries today, and we divide the prize fund among those 10 entries. And beyond that initial $200 million, the three executives want to know how a team headed by Michael Andretti would put money in their pockets, instead of taking some away. To be fair, F1 isn’t a charitable organization-it, and its teams, run on pure 110-octane money.

'F1 isn’t, for god’s sake, a charitable organization' In a press conference Saturday with F1 team principals Toto Wolff of Mercedes, Zak Brown of McLaren, and Laurent Rossi of Alpine, the message to Andretti seems to be twofold. He says he has the $200 million buy-in ready to go, but F1 royalty hasn’t decided whether to let Andretti start an 11 th team, and it could be months before they decide. It’s no secret that Michael Andretti, a former Ind圜ar and Formula 1 driver and current Ind圜ar team owner, wants to add an F1 team to his substantial holdings, be it through buying an existing team-though it seems there isn’t a suitable one available-or starting a new team, possibly with Ind圜ar’s Colton Herta as a driver.Īndretti and his father Mario, a former F1 champion and a grand marshal for Sunday’s Formula 1 Grand Prix of Miami, are here in town trying to drum up support for Michael’s effort.

Andretti has already secured $200 million in funding, but according to existing owners, that may not be enough.

Right now, the only American team is Haas.

There are 10 teams currently on the F1 grid.

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