While the F1 just approved Andretti’s capabilities to be a Formula 1 team for 2025, the F1 is afraid of having an 11th F1 team for several reasons, mainly related to image and commercial rights. In order for F1 to grow, it needs teams and spectacle. The revenue generated by the F1 brand depends on the price of television rights and contracts signed with circuit promoters in the calendar.
The interest of F1 is therefore to have more and more spectators who pay for tickets or TV channels willing to pay more to broadcast Formula 1. For this, the image of Formula 1 must remain attractive and currently, it is the case. So, should F1 really risk the arrival of an 11th team in F1?
Having a solid championship image
In recent years, despite financial crises, F1 teams have found a good balance and are even sometimes able to generate profits. The budget is now limited and the appeal of F1 is at its peak, thanks in particular to new fans from Netflix.
The arrival of an 11th team in F1 is therefore not commercially necessary for F1 to earn more money and may even risk causing the opposite effect.
Stefano Domenicali explained this summer that the decision must be the one that is good for the business: « As we always say, we must ensure that the decision we will make will be good for our business. It is our duty and that of the FIA. »
In responding to the FIA’s announcement on Monday, Stefano Domenicali explained that he would take note and continue the process: « We take note of the conclusions of the FIA regarding this first and second phase. We will now conduct our own evaluation to decide on the merit of this application. »
The 11th F1 team should pay compensation to the other 10
The F1 teams and F1 have negotiated an increase in entry fees for an 11th team in the paddock. Indeed, the 10 current F1 teams in the championship share the annual rights paid by F1. By going from 10 to 11 teams, each currently present team will therefore lose 10% of their income, which will be paid to the 11th entity.
To compensate for its losses, the entry fees for the 11th team are therefore staggering, amounting to over 200 million euros since 2021. However, this amount is far from satisfying the current teams in the face of the increasing interest in F1 around the world. Negotiations are underway to increase this [ticket to over 600 million euros](/f1/actualite/29703-les-equipes-reclament-au-moins-600-millions-dollars-frais-dinscriptions-nouveaux-entrants.html), thus allowing each team to receive 60 million euros.
Recently, the increase in capital of the Alpine racing team surprised with the numbers, valuing the Franco-British team [Alpine](/f1/actualite/30870-alpine-cede-parts-ecurie.html) at nearly one billion euros.
Previous failures of team arrivals
In the 2000s and 2010s, several teams entered Formula 1 and unfortunately only managed to survive for a few years, sometimes even just one season before being bought out. Formula 1 does not want this constant turnover image, which is detrimental to its reputation.
Midland, Super Aguri, Spyker, Lotus, HRT, Virgin, Manor, so many teams, so many financial failures on the grid. These failures bring uncertainty and a negative image for both sponsors and spectators regarding the stability of the championship.
No date announced
F1 will take over in the negotiations between the teams on the grid, the FOM, and therefore Andretti to see if Andretti can make it onto the grid in 2025. However, at this time, no date has been announced regarding the negotiation process. Even though Andretti is currently present in multiple motor racing championships, preparing for and passing all the FIA tests to ensure a minimum level of performance will take several years. It is therefore imperative that Andretti be settled as soon as possible on their fate, as 2025 is only two seasons away.
