Over the last few months, there have been plenty of talks about Andretti joining the Formula 1 grid. More often than not, influential figures within the F1 community like Mercedes boss Toto Wolff have showcased their apprehension towards this new entry and Red Bull team principal Christian Horner also joined his rival Wolff by publicly questioning the value Andretti would add to the sport by joining.
Horner and Wolff are not the only team bosses who don’t want Andretti to enter the sport. In fact, every team other than McLaren & Alpine are trying to block their entry into F1 after the engine freeze ends in 2026.
Horner believes that Andretti and Cadillac are huge names who would bring eyeballs into the sport. However, how much money they will make or draw in over the years is not sure. The current model of making money by splitting profit between the 10 teams works perfectly well according to Horner and he does not want it to be spoiled because of Andretti.
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Christian Horner wants Andretti to follow Audi model
Andretti and Cadillac are not the only big names trying to make their way into the world of F1. In 2022, Audi announced that they will join F1 after the engine freeze, but they won’t create a new team altogether. Alfa Romeo are set to leave the sport after the 2023 season and the team will return to being called Sauber until 2025. 2026 onwards, they will officially become Audi F1 team.
According to Horner, acquiring an existing team will be much better decision for Andretti. He also added that it would be something that other team bosses will welcome with open arms. On the other hand, if they choose to form an 11th team, it would mean that they eat up from the profit that current F1 teams make ($32 million) without any significant return for them.
“I’m sure they would prefer the Audi model,” said Horner to RACER. “Where they come in and acquire an existing franchise. If you introduce another one or two teams, you dilute the value of the current 10 franchises.”
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Horner explains why FIA don’t have problem with Andretti
Earlier this month, the president of the FIA, Mohammed Ben Sulayem took to social media to take a dig at the existing F1 teams. He insisted that the entire point of promoting F1 was to encourage more participation and be more open. He added that he does ‘not understand’ why the teams are trying to block Andretti-Cadillac.
Horner hit back at Ben Sulayem by revealing that there won’t be any financial ramifications for the FIA if Andretti do end up joining. This is why the 61-year-old is so vocal about letting them enter the sport.
“You can understand the FIA,” he said. “They’ve got no financial consequence of this because they don’t participate in the prize fund, and they’d receive further entry fees for more teams coming in.”
