‘I’m not surprised’: Zak Brown fires shot at rival teams

Multiple existing F1 teams have expressed their concerns about the Andretti-Cadillac project.

The Andretti Global project has been shut down time and time again by F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, who claims that it would be unwise to expand the grid and destabilise Formula 1.

The team have recently partnered with American car giants General Motors however, adding an entirely different dimension and level of appeal to their projects.

The opinions surrounding allowing Andretti-Cadillac to join the grid as an 11th team have divided F1, with many officials taking different stances.

Stefano Domenicali continues to be opposed to expanding the grid, while FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has repeatedly supported the project.

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Some current F1 bosses have expressed their concerns about the potential expansion of the F1 grid, something which McLaren CEO Zak Brown has called ‘short-sighted’.

“I’ve found some Formula One teams are very short-sighted in their view on not taking a longer-range view of what are things that can grow the sport, and they kind of thing about the here and now,” said the American.

“Unfortunately, I’m not surprised some of our competitors are quite short-sighted in their thinking.”

The main concern that the current teams have surrounding the Andretti-Cadillac project is regarding the financial aspect of the grid expansion.

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Should an extra team join the grid, the prize pot would be split another way, meaning that every team would receive less money unless this new team can significantly add value to the sport.

In response to these issues, Brown has claimed that with time, expanding the grid will boost the commercial value of F1, should the new team pay a franchise fee.

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“Our general view is that so long as a team is additive to the sport, whether it’s an 11th team and/or a 12thteam, and can help make the pie bigger, driver greater awareness and we all get more sponsors, we get more media deals, and they pay what’s a fair franchise fee, which all sports have, then I see no reason for them not to join,” he explained.

The ‘who’s going to pay for it’ argument seems to be the main stumbling block surrounding the Andretti-Cadillac project, with Toto Wolff and Christian Horner being two of the most outspoken team bosses.

F1 will have to change their mind if Andretti-Cadillac are to join the grid, as the FIA do not have the power to add them to the grid on their own.