FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem insists there will be ‘no rift’ over American team Andretti joining the F1 grid as new 11th team – and claims the opposition from existing 10 outfits is ‘about money’
- Andretti have been approved to join Formula One by governing body the FIA
- There is opposition to the inclusion of an 11th team by the 10 current outfits
- The American outfit were given FIA approval to join the paddock in October
Mohammed Ben Sulayem is confident that there will be no rift driven among the Formula One paddock over the potential addition of an 11th team.
American outfit Andretti – who have partnered with Cadillac – are looking to join the grid, with their application approved earlier in October by the FIA – F1’s governing body.
Andretti were one of a number of teams looking to join Formula One, although theirs was accepted ahead of four rivals, largely down to the financial backing the Americans can boast.
However, the General Motors-backed team have come in for opposition from the existing sides, with the addition of a further team set to reduce the money earned for each team by another share.
Teams are required to pay a £165million joining fee, which the other sides are thought to view as paltry in comparison to the recent financial resurgence of the sport, with teams valued at between £600m to £1billion.
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem insisted that there will be ‘no rift’ in Formula One over Andretti
Andretti are owned by Michael Andretti, and have partnered with American car giants Cadillac
Speaking exclusively to Sky Sports at the Qatar Grand Prix, Ben Sulayem insisted however that he has full confidence that Andretti would join the grid, and claimed: ‘There is no way it will be a rift. I am sorry, the press can write whatever they want.’
He added that he had ‘all the confidence’ over that the American side’s potential addition.
‘This is common sense,’ he continued. ‘I would like a good reason. Honestly, if you look at it, I could have done this process a long time ago and I could have approved it a long time ago. But I took my time.
‘We asked the right questions to Cadillac and to Andretti and when they came back to us, there is no way we can resist them because the team ticked all the boxes. It is good for the sport.
‘I am actually confident that they will go through.’
Ben Sulayem affirmed that in his opinion it is for the better of the sport to expand the paddock and welcome a new team, although he accepted that there was also a ‘commercial side’ to F1.
The FIA president however wasted no time in offering his own thoughts on the opposition to Andretti’s introduction.
‘I believe it’s about money. I can’t think of anything [else]. As I said before, it’s money to the teams. With the cost cap, look at how much it’s worth now. Teams are worth billions, some of them.
The American group currently has teams in various series, including Formula E (pictured above)
‘For us it’s [about] the spirit of the sport. It’s sustaining motorsport, sustaining the business. To them it is money and more money. And we have nothing against this, it’s up to them.’
Andretti are run by Michael Andretti, son of the great 1978 world champion Michael, faces opposition from the teams and the sport’s owners, Liberty Media.
Mail Sport previously reported that Stefano Domenicali, who acts as F1 chief executive for Liberty, is minded to side with the teams to thwart Andretti’s entry, whatever the FIA may have decided.
Officially, F1 are evaluating the bid on a commercial basis.
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