After Lawrence Stroll Snubbed $20,000,000 From Andretti, Fernando Alonso Contradicts His Boss in Favor of 11th Team

As per recent developments, Aston Martin boss Lawrence Stroll spoke against the idea of having an 11th team on the grid. He declined the prospect even after getting a guaranteed $20,000,000 from Michael Andretti. Now, his driver, Fernando Alonso, has contradicted the Canadian boss, as per F1 Maximal.

Stroll Sr. rejected the idea of having another team in the grid. He is of the opinion that the sport is doing well with the existing ten teams and does not feel the need to have an extension in the grid. This has come even after the teams were promised to have an extra $20 million anti-dilution fee by the new team, Andretti Global.

It seems that maybe not all of the teams are delighted over the FIA’s approval of Andretti’s F1 entry 😳#Stroll #AstonMartin #Andretti #F1 #Formula1 pic.twitter.com/glMmVo3X4F

— PlanetF1 (@Planet_F1) October 5, 2023

As Fernando Alonso is in stark contrast to his boss, the Spanish driver believes that having Andretti in the sport will be good for the sport. This is partly because the Asturian has worked with Andretti earlier in the United States.

Alonso’s statement comes in stark contrast with Stroll

Alonso’s recent statement in the Qatar Grand Prix press conference on Andretti’s entry into the sport has been contradictory to Stroll. Talking about this, he said in the Qatar Grand Prix press conference as per F1 Maximal, “It would be a great name for Formula 1.”

Following this, he added, “I have known Michael for years, I like him and I know how his racing team works, but that will be decided by the FIA, the FOM, and the teams.” Admittedly, Alonso had prior experience working with Andretti when the former raced for Andretti Autosport in the Indy 500 in 2017.

The dust settles.

Here, stillness is found.#JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/NiajYD3qbm

— Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) September 25, 2023

While most of the team bosses had rejected the idea of having the 11th team, star drivers Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen have spoken in favor of the upcoming American team.

Verstappen and Hamilton spoke in favor of Andretti, while their team objected

Hamilton and Verstappen were in support of having a new team on the grid. While Verstappen liked the idea of a new entry, Hamilton was of the opinion that having the team would add diversity to the sport.

On the other hand, Red Bull and Mercedes team bosses had clearly rejected the new entrant Andretti. Christian Horner and Toto Wolff had declined the idea, saying it would be bad for their business.

Even though they would be getting the $20 million amount as anti-dilution, it will not be enough for them, believes the top honchos. This is mainly because they have invested hugely in the sport for years, and having a new team would eat their profit percentage.