Toto Wolff dismisses Andretti Global’s F1 place by saying ‘they cannot increase the value of Formula One’


Toto Wolff dismisses Andretti Global’s F1 place by saying ‘they cannot increase the value of Formula One’

Toto Wolff

Toto Wolff has been opposing the participation of Andretti Global in F1 since the very start and has now indicated why it has been the case.

Former Formula One World Champion Mario Andretti made it public in February that his son Michael Andretti had applied to the FIA to introduce a new team on the F1 grid by 2024.

YouTube video

However, the announcement received mixed reactions from up and down the paddock and it was believed that the reason behind it was the dilution in the prize fund and other revenue streams for the 10 F1 teams.

FS Video

Any new team that intends to join the sport is required to pay a whopping amount of $200 million that is split between the existing teams to negate the damage.

The 200 million cost was introduced in 2020 and Wolff claimed, “that the fee sets a floor for team valuation.”

Michael Andretti
Michael Andretti

While Andretti is looking to become the 11th team on the grid, Audi has got its sights set on the takeover of the Alfa Romeo F1 team. Moreover, Toto Wolff was asked to differentiate between the two approaches and said, “I think whoever joins as an 11th team, whoever gets an entry needs to demonstrate how accretive they can be for the business.”

Toto Wolff is not sure as to what the Andretti Group can bring to F1 in terms of the overall value of F1

Toto Wolff
Toto Wolff

Toto Wolff has always been the kind of person who never shies away from saying what is on his mind and while discussing Andretti Global’s potential inclusion, said, “Andretti is a great name, they have done exceptional things in the US but this is sport and this is business.”

“We need to understand what it is you can provide to the sport and if an OEM or multi-national group joins Formula 1 and can demonstrate they are going to spend X amount of dollars in activating, in marketing, and in various markets, that is obviously a totally different value proposition for all the other teams.”

We have 10 franchises that we hope can increase the value and you are certainly not going to increase the value by issuing new franchises to people who cannot increase the overall value of Formula 1.”

Formula1 and FIA
Formula 1 and FIA

Toto Wolff has blatantly questioned the ability of Andretti Global in increasing the value of F1 and considering the amount of time that the hierarchy at F1 is taking in making a decision, it seems they too are still pondering over the proposal and are trying to understand whether the inclusion of an 11th team is what’s best for the sport.

It has been more than six months since the start of the whole saga and it is going to be fascinating to see how this situation is going to develop in the upcoming months.

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