Steiner cautions against need for 11th F1 team

Haas team boss Guenther Steiner states there needs to be an upside for the current teams in Formula 1 when it comes to entertaining a new addition to the grid.

The FIA’s decision to open up an Expression of Interest process to advocate for potential new entries has been met with stern resistance by several of the current teams, who have argued that the current $200m entry fee is not reflective of the series’ recent popularity and that an added team would significantly dilute the prize money available to the present constructors.

The most advanced and established interest has come from the American Andretti team. Michael Andretti, son of 1978 F1 champion Mario, confirmed on race day in Miami that the group were in the process of putting together the final bits of paperwork to be sent to the sport’s governing body.

Meanwhile, several other prospective candidates also made public their intentions ahead of the May 15 deadline, with the FIA setting an intention to make a decision by June 30 at the latest.

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However, Steiner, whose been in charge of Haas – F1’s latest newcomer – since its inception in 2016, has questioned whether there is necessarily an urgent need to increase the current 20-car field.

“For me saying it’s 11 or 12, I’m not in a position to know what they bring to the sport,” he responded when asked how many new F1 teams he’d be open to seeing.

“But I think if we got more teams, there needs to be an upside for the 10 which are here, you know, and then I think nobody will have anything against it.

“But there needs to be an upside and not just more sharing. So I think it could be 11, could be 12, could be 13, I don’t know.

“In the end, FIA and FOM are looking into it and seeing if they can bring an upside to the 10 stakeholders, as the guys said here, which are very solid now. All 10 of them.

“We didn’t have that for a long time. The competition is getting closer as well. Financially, everybody’s stable. Why should we rock that boat, you know, if there is not more coming to us?”

F1 is limited to a maximum of 12 teams up to and including the 2025 season under the terms of the current Concorde Agreement, leaving room for two new additions.

McLaren CEO Zak Brown has welcomed the prospect of more teams entering the sport, having previously been particularly outspoken in his support of Andretti’s bid.

“As long as they are additive to our sport, I’d love to see more cars on the grid,” he said. “I think it’s exciting. I remember when I started following Formula 1, you had pre-qualifying, I think there were 30-31 cars trying to show up to make the show.

“So I think an increase in the grid of the right teams that bring the right resources and are additive to what we’re all trying to do and help grow the sport then I’m all for it.”

Despite leaning towards an expansion becoming a reality, the American has cautioned that the FIA must ensure it avoids any “dreamers” and only plumps for teams that would be sustainable options.

“What we can’t have is… Really the only credible, sustainable team that I’ve seen in the last decade is Guenther’s. And so what we do need to make sure is if someone enters that they really have the commitment and can do what it takes,” he warned.

“Because in my experience, I think in a variety of motorsports, you do see a lot of dreamers and what we don’t need with the health of the sport is a team coming in underestimating what it’s going to take and two years later, they’re gone.”