“Nobody Would Ever…”: Toto Wolff Backtracks on Heavy Andretti Claims in Recent Statement

Recently, Andretti-Cadillac announced their intention to submit an Expression of Interest to join the F1 grid. However, Andretti’s intention to join the grid was ‘welcomed’ with a cold shoulder by the teams. A handful of teams are not keen on another player’s entry in F1. Leading the charge of this opposition is the Mercedes boss, Toto Wolff.

Toto Wolff stated that Andretti had to prove that they would add enough value to make up for the other teams’ existing prize money being diluted. Andretti’s collaboration with General Motors and Cadillac in its Formula 1 plan is a clap back to the opposition. This has led their most vocal opponent to soften his stance. Wolff, still unsure of an increase in the number of teams in F1, appreciated the move by Andretti. “Cadillac and GM, that’s a statement,” said Wolff as covered by Racer.com.

Acknowledging the global reputation of entrants, Wolff said “…them joining forces with Andretti is definitely a positive, gives it another angle that may or may not be beneficial for Formula 1, but nobody would ever question GM or Cadillac’s pedigree in motorsport and obviously as a global auto company.”

Toto Wolff had his own skepticism when it came to adding new teams to the grid. Historically, there have been instances where a team would show their interest and would never actually join the grid. But James Vowles has voiced his support towards the Andretti-Cadillac team and he feels that they’ll have a positive impact on the sport.

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New Williams Boss on His Stance Towards the Andretti Move

On the Andretti bid, outgoing Mercedes head strategist James Vowles, who is set to join Williams as its new team boss, said: “We are always open to the sport growing.”

“The truth behind it is that the sport financially is becoming more and more successful. Whoever joins in that environment effectively needs to bring with it the growth that is required in order for everyone else to be in a better position… or at least a neutral position. And that’s been the statement from the beginning.”

Maintaining a diplomatic stance, he further added, “There are a lot of lovely things about Andretti and about Cadillac. It just needs to have a good understanding of how it will grow the sport and in what way and what the growth will be.”

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The F1 grid, which houses 10 teams and 20 cars, definitely has room for more. The regulations place a limit of 26 entries for the championship. Dilution of the benefits and prize money is the primary reason for the uproar and opposition towards the new entrants. A sport that has such a limited number of spots is facing internal opposition against expansion. Is this closed ecosystem of the F1 teams reasonable? Or do you think the teams are being extra cautious of who enters their sport to walk alongside them?