Has F1 managed to put an end to 11th team debacle?
Formula 1 might no longer need to publicly fight against allowing an eleventh team on the grid despite Andretti-Cadillac's best efforts.
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Stefano Domenicali and Mohammed Ben Sulayem (via IMAGO)
Formula 1 has ten teams. The pinnacle of motorsport has continued with ten teams on the grid since the 2017 season after Manor Racing went bankrupt. However, in the past few months, there was a push for another team by the FIA, something which F1 did not want.
Michael Andretti‘s Andretti-Cadillac was the prime prospect to become an eleventh F1 team. The all-American bid was the only project to get the green light from the FIA. Unfortunately, Andretti’s bid was rejected by Formula One Management during commercial negotiations.
Nevertheless, the American motorsport giant continued to secure a spot on the grid. Even some from the US House of Representatives raised questions over Andretti-Cadillac’s rejection. However, it seems that Formula 1 will not need to give up an eleventh spot for the foreseeable future.
Andretti-Cadillac was the last hope for 11th F1 team
Michael Andretti has officially given up on his ownership role at Andretti Global, the organization behind the American bid. This news comes after months of radio silence from GM over its involvement with the Cadillac brand over the joint F1 entry.
Andretti-Cadillac has not made any statement over its future plans in F1. However, it is unlikely that the American project will continue to fight for a place on the grid at least for the time being.
Moreover, F1 will certainly not welcome any new bids for the future. Rather, the pinnacle of motorsport wants new entrants to go and buy a stake in an existing team according to the ‘franchise’ model. This in turn further boosts value of existing teams and helps in building value of the sport.
Formula 1’s rapid growth in popularity over the years has finally made the sport more profitable for the ten existing teams. This has led to the sport being more protective of its ten teams who had previously suffered through rough economic times including the Covid-19 pandemic. As such, fans should not expect to see 22 cars on the grid anytime soon.
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Armaan Agarwal
(2329 Articles Published)