Red Bull TP Christian Horner Flags Reluctance to Have Mario Andretti in F1: “We’re Not Going to Pay for It”

Ever since he expressed his willingness to float the 11th team in F1, Mario Andretti has faced opposition from existing teams. Despite his announcement of a partnership with GM Cadillac, the opposition did not end. As it turns out, it is not just the existing teams that are against the idea of having an 11th team, but also Liberty Media. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner revealed the reason in a recent interview.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has until now been the most vocal in opposing Andretti’s entry. Wolff cited the revenue loss that the incumbent teams will have to take due to an 11th team’s entry. He flagged the issue of a 10 percent dilution of the share in prize money for the teams that have invested in the sport all these years. While Horner agrees with the Mercedes boss, he also revealed Liberty Media’s reluctance.

Speaking with Racer, Christian Horner said, “you’ve got the Liberty (Media) guys saying, ‘Well we’re not going to pay for it, we’re happy with 10 healthy, competitive franchises from an operational perspective — garages, logistics, motorhomes — it’s all more to accommodate.’ I’m sure they would prefer the Audi model, where they come in and acquire an existing franchise.”

“If you introduce another one or two teams, you dilute the value of the current 10 franchises, which of course teams — particularly down towards the bottom end of the grid — have got a very inflated inherent value at the moment,” he added.

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Out of the 10 teams, only McLaren and Alpine are in favor of having Andretti in competition. Apart from them, FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem is backing their entry as well.

FIA president lashed out at existing teams for blocking Mario Andretti and Cadillac’s entry

According to the current Concorde Agreement, any team looking to enter the championship needs to pay $200 million. The existing teams will divide the amount among themselves as compensation for the dilution of their share. However, once Andretti announced his partnership with GM, reports suggested that teams wanted the amount to be raised to $700 million.

Expressing his displeasure with the development, Ben Sulayem wrote on Twitter, “It is surprising that there has been some adverse reaction to the Cadillac and Andretti news. The FIA has accepted the entries of smaller, successful organizations in recent years. We should be encouraging prospective F1 entries from global manufacturers like GM and thoroughbred racers like Andretti and others. Interest from teams in grown markets adds diversity and broadens F1’s appeal.”

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The Andretti family broke ground for a world-class facility in Indiana last month. It will be interesting to see whether they will cave in and pay the $700 million amount.