FLOYD ON F1: Relunctance to increase number of teams doesn’t make sense

For years we have heard the clarion call from F1 management to increase the number of entries within the sport.

Over time F1 has transformed, mainly thanks to Bernard Ecclestone and his colleague Max Mosley, who morphed the sport of racing into a hugely lucrative investment opportunity.

It is now a corporate animal, controlled by investment groups with an eye on the bottom line. Initially it was CVC Capital Partners, who then sold to current owners Liberty Media.

With the objective of making F1 the new number one sport in the US, we have seen Liberty
Media and F1 Management explore many “innovative” concepts in an attempt to increase its presence in the US and financial earnings.

One such concept was a call to encourage new entrants. The recently announced, yet to be implemented, arrival of the Volkswagen Group, in the form of Porsche and Audi, is encouraging.

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But I am at a loss to understand the attitude of Liberty Media regarding the application to enter a team from American race and team owner Michael Andretti. In response to Andretti, Greg Maffei, Liberty Media CEO, is reported as saying there is “no pressing need” for an 11th F1 team.

He is not alone in his thinking, as several current teams have expressed a similar opinion.

It all seems to come down to the financial rewards. Apparently adding an 11th team would mean less in the coffers for the current competitors at year end.

But surely this would be somewhat offset by the new team’s entry fee and if they score zero points in their first season, it would not affect the finances.

It is pretty obvious nobody wants to see a needless distillation of a very cosy arrangement between the 10 teams and Liberty. Surely Liberty would be able to somehow offset this loss so that the regulars will not be affected.

But then another thought crossed my mind and it concerns the Audi/Porsche acceptance into F1. It is intimated Porsche would come in as an engine supplier, probably aligning with Red Bull Powertrains, and Audi would like to come in as a fully fledged team.

It is rumoured Audi has been in consultation with a few F1 teams with the aim of purchasing, but so far no takers. But if you read the media releases it appears we will not be able to accommodate Audi as a new team unless an existing team comes up for sale and can be renamed.

All seems fine for Porsche though, as they are only building engines, but for who?

Currently Mercedes supplies its factory team, McLaren, Aston Martin and Williams, Ferrari supplies its factory team, Alfa Romeo and Haas, Red Bull supplies itself and Alpha Tauri and Renault just Alpine, so where does Porsche deliver the new power units?

It cannot be a new F1 team as we will have none available.

To see the 2022 F1 driver’s standings, click here.