Over the last few months, Michael Andretti has been very vocal about his plan of entering F1 with an all-American team. Andretti and Cadillac are working on making an entry, but most of the F1 teams are against this. Team bosses like Zak Brown and Toto Wolff have been very open about their reluctance to let this go through. Now, F1’s CEO Stefano Domenicali joined in the bandwagon by launching a scathing attack on Andretti.
As reported by Business F1, Domenicali does not think Andretti should go around publicly stating his desire to join the F1 grid, since it’s an unlikely occurrence according to him. He also slammed the American for calling the existing F1 teams ‘greedy’, something which he insists, isn’t true.
Andretti-Cadillac to enter F1. Exciting times. American media leak picture of potential design. pic.twitter.com/LAe8lddVSC
— Grand Prix Diary (@GrandPrixDiary) January 5, 2023
F1 teams and Domenicali are reportedly against having Andretti-Cadillac enter the grid because of the revenue share. If there’s a new team, it means that each team will have a chunk of money cut out from its yearly earnings. This is something no team wants, and they want Andretti to prove its financial worth before coming into the world of F1.
F1 boss against Michael Andretti and Cadillac entering F1?
The FIA stated that the F1 group can’t block the entry of new teams in the sport. In fact, Domenicali told Sky Sports Italy that they are very open to the idea of new teams joining the sport. Despite this, he recently asked Andretti to not go public and be very vocal about his potential entry.
Domenicali does not seem to be against Andretti joining F1, at least personally. He spoke to the media about how much he respects both Michael and Mario Andretti, the latter of whom is a former world champion. Domenicali also suggested that he feels they would add a lot of sporting value to Formula 1.
What Domenicali wants Andretti to do, is stop calling F1 teams greedy. He also wants him to stop being so vocal, because there are plenty of other teams who want to join the sport, but aren’t making as much noise.
Process of Andretti’s potential entry will be respected
The formalities behind a new team joining Formula 1 is always long and complicated. After months and years of hard work, it is even possible that Andretti are officially denied entry into Formula 1, but Domenicali insists that whatever the final outcome is, the process will be respectful and fair.
“We will make sure together with the FIA that the process will be respected,” said the F1 CEO. “And if all the elements are there, they will be very welcome.”
As per multiple reports, teams have stated that the main reason behind teams blocking the entry of a new outfit is the fact that they will lose out on approximately $50 million in revenue.
F1 will try and block Andretti’s entry
Even though Domenicali tried to be diplomatic about his approach when asked about Andretti joining F1, reports insist that the body will do ‘whatever it takes’ to block its entry. According to the Italian, the sport’s primary focus is on its existing growth.
Stefano Domenicali has called out Michael Andretti for branding Formula 1 teams “greedy”, calling the remark “not smart”https://t.co/3W0CuuLmp8
— RACER (@RACERmag) February 12, 2023
All ten existing teams have invested huge amount of money into the future of F1, and it is fair that the F1 group backs them, instead of newcomers. That is why, the commercial value that Andretti will bring has to be big enough for the teams to be convinced of their own financial security, heading into the long-term future.
