Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has questioned what an 11th team in Formula 1 would actually bring, with the Italian believing that a new entry into the pinnacle of motorsport would simply bring “risk”.
If everything goes as expected, then Formula 1 will have an 11th team by 2026, with the FIA having opened up applications to prospective F1 teams.
The governing body are happy to add two teams to the current grid should they fit certain criteria, with one of the spots likely to go to Andretti.
Andretti’s F1 bid is certainly the strongest of any reported, with FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem having even publicly supported their entry, suggesting that they have a great chance of making the grid.
READ: Max Verstappen says Red Bull ‘never really talk about’ budget cap punishment
The issue for Andretti’s entry, though, is that eight teams on the grid are against it, with only Alpine and McLaren being in favour of the Americans joining.
Steiner isn’t happy that teams are being allowed to join and questions why the governing body are prepared to “risk” current teams becoming financially unstable, something none of the current teams are.
“What upside is it bringing?” Steiner told Sky Sports F1.
“There is just risk, no benefit.
“Five years ago, you could get teams for nothing, you could pick it up. Nobody wanted them and they went out of business.
“Now, all of a sudden, everybody wants a team. But it’s a lot of people that want to come in and the 10 teams which are here are all financially stable, all well set up. It’s a very good environment at the moment, no one is struggling.
“If you put an 11th team in and we get a little bit of a dip in the economy or something all of a sudden maybe people are maybe struggling to survive.
“Why take that risk if there is no upside? It’s not up to me to decide.”
The issue for F1 is that Andretti have done everything that the FIA has asked, with the final piece of the jigsaw having been partnering with a manufacturer.
Andretti have therefore partnered with General Motors for their F1 bid, something that Ben Sulayem doesn’t think the sport can say no to.
READ: Ferrari hoping practice makes perfect
“We check all the boxes,” said Michael Andretti.
“The only box we didn’t have checked when we were working on our entry was, we didn’t have an OEM behind us, but now we have GM and Cadillac behind us. They are going to bring a lot to the party to help us get a race car on track.
“We are very bullish at this moment.”