The news of the addition of Audi to the grid, starting in 2026, has been making headlines recently. The team has been pulling several threads as it starts its journey with Sauber soon. But one more team, that made headlines earlier, has confirmed its bid to enter to the grid. But this time it comes with a partner. It is Andretti Autosport, who wants to join the grid in 2026 with Cadillac as its partner. And while the reception from fans has been mixed, the grid, including Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, has expressed its feelings with a little skepticism.

Previously, when the news of Andretti’s joining was making the rounds, Toto Wolff expressed his concern over the value addition and the investment commitment by the new teams. And he seems to have similar concerns now as well, as Andretti is looking for a green signal from the FIA.

While welcoming Andretti and presenting his doubts, Toto, as quoted by RacingNews365, said, “I think Andretti is a fantastic brand, and they’ve shown in many other series that they can be competitive.”

“What I’ve said before is ‘What can you add to the show?’ if I’m trying to join up with a big auto company and manufacturer that would invest the same amount of money and activation in the promotion and advertising in the racing – which is what we do – it would be a fantastic add-on,” he added.

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Earlier, Wolff estimated the true cost of an F1 team to be $1 Billion. But how much Andretti and Cadillac are willing to invest in different aspects of the sport still remains unknown.

Toto Wolff on the prospects of Andretti being successful

Andretti, if it makes it through all the diligence by F1 and the FIA, will be the second American team on the grid after Haas. But its owner, Michael Andretti, believes it to be “true” American since Haas gave a seat to Russian driver Nikita Mazepin in 2021.

Upon the final announcement by Andretti, Toto Wolff commented on its prospects. He said, “I think it’s very difficult as a private team – you see with the few private teams that we have in F1 – to get on your feet and be successful because the odds are against you.” 

“Everybody now in F1, including Sauber has an OEM as a partner, the only ones who are not is Williams and Haas. But without any doubt, I believe in those structures that have been here for a long time, especially Williams.”

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On the other hand, Toto welcomed this move but believes they need to be competitive right from the start as the sport continues to grow exponentially in America. What happens next remains to be seen. For now, however, it looks like we’ll soon be getting the 11th team on the grid.