American F1 Civil War Ensues as Haas Boss Smack Talks Andretti Entry

Haas is the only American team in F1 at the moment, led by their charismatic yet controversial team principal Guenther Steiner. Despite the sport’s growth in America in recent years, Steiner insists that he is fine with how there’s just one team from the States at the moment. He said this in reference to talks of Andretti joining F1 in the future.

Michael Andretti hasn’t hidden his desire of fielding an 11th team in F1. Last year, he entered into a partnership with Cadillac that would mark both of their entries into the sport, and they have even started the process of becoming the latest addition to F1. Whether they get into F1 or not is yet to be seen, but Andretti is facing a huge amount of resistance from the bosses of existing outfits.

Michael Andretti has hit out at Formula 1 teams for not welcoming his bid to join the grid with Cadillac, insisting their resistance is “all about greed” and “not looking at what is best” for the sport 👇

— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) January 11, 2023

The likes of Toto Wolff and Christian Horner don’t want an 11th team on the grid. To add insult to injury, Steiner, the team principal of Haas, based out of Kannapolis, who knows how huge the market can be, is also against having a new team in the paddock.

Guenther Steiner wants things to be the way they are right now

F1 has grown immensely over the last few years, and teams are earning more money than they ever have. Having another team in the paddock means that the current teams have to split the profit with another entrant. This is something that Wolff, Steiner, and Co. are hugely skeptical of.

Steiner for one, doesn’t see any positives in having Andretti in Formula 1. He recalls a time when things weren’t quite stable in the sport from a financial and sporting point of view. Now, he thinks things are fine the way they are and without concrete proof that Andretti’s arrival will do good to them, he doesn’t want anything to change. As quoted by Crash, he said-

“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?”

Steiner also pointed out another challenge with having 11 or 12 teams in F1. This isn’t something financial or sporting, but from a complete logistical point of view.

Where will the 11th team set their garage up? Haas boss asks

There have been 10 teams in F1 for quite a long time. As a result, most circuits, especially the ones that have been newly constructed have the facilities to accommodate just 10 teams and their members. When Andretti’s entry was being discussed, this particular issue did come up and Steiner brought it to light once again.

The Haas boss said,

“I think beyond that, as well is, with the way that the sport has now developed. If you look at the pit lane, for example, here or somewhere like Monaco, Zandvoort. Or some of the circuits that we’re now racing at, where would we be able to accommodate an 11th team? I think that in itself, just operationally. Where do we put the motorhomes?” 

From all aspects, Haas don’t want another American team in F1. Steiner, and his boss Gene Haas are fine with them being the only team from the US on the grid. From a financial point of view, no squad in F1 right now, is ready to welcome Andretti with open arms.