Zak Brown recently opened up about the pros and cons of an 11th team like Andretti joining the grid while appearing on on the Track Limits podcast. Andretti has been struggling to get approval from the F1 stakeholders for their potential entry. While the FIA has given them the green light after carefully examining their plans, the American team still awaits approval from FOM and Liberty Media.
Brown said, “The benefits are that they can help grow the pie. That pie could be primarily fans, that could be television revenue, that could be increased visibility in a particular market that helps bring in more sponsors or excitement at the track.”
The revenue sharing of the prize money is the biggest point of contention all ten teams have raised in this saga. The McLaren CEO too raised this point.
The American boss said, “The downside is if the pie doesn’t get bigger, then you’re just dividing the same big pie, and that’s where the majority of teams don’t agree.”
Brown cited that none of the teams have full knowledge of the exact proposal of any 11th team. While team principals have given their opinions, they expect more clarity on the entire situation. For the time being, Andretti needs approval from the FOM stakeholders.
What are the hurdles for Andretti’s F1 bid?
Andretti is facing opposition from the current F1 teams primarily only from a financial standpoint. The main point many team bosses raised was about the entry fee for Andretti.
Some suggested that they should be paying an anti-dilution fee of $200 million. This was to ensure that the prize pie didn’t get smaller after they entered into F1. Meanwhile, there were also speculations that some suggested that this fee should go up as high as between $600 and $700 million. However, nothing has come of it yet.
Amid all this, Zak Brown has been neutral in this Andretti saga. However, he did voice his support for the American team back in April 2023. The McLaren boss stated how he is a supporter of Michael Andretti and Cadillac and finds their F1 bid as “healthy” for the sport.
However, Brown also knows that he is in the “minority”. While he explained the logic behind the anti-dilution fee to showcase the other teams’ perspectives, eventually the American also cited that the teams won’t have the final say on Andretti.
It will be the FIA and F1 who decide Andretti and Cadillac’s fate. On one hand, F1 is keen to invite more engine manufacturers for its 2026 regulations. Thus, GM and Cadillac boost Andretti’s chances. However, the American brand has faced a lot of opposition too from existing teams, for anonymous reasons. So, things still seem uncertain for them.
