[NeilP]

With the fact we are between seasons this seems to be the question that is up front in the sport.

Straightaway I am going to say the more the merrier.  Current regulations allow for up to 26 cars per race so that is absolutely not an issue. There are as always two sides (at least) to every story.

Liberty want to add more teams to the sport and what is particular relevant in this instance is it is an American team with the potential of an American engine manufacturer.  I do have some experience of American engines. They are big, brash, virtually untuned and I have to say super reliable. The V8 in many trucks and SUV vehicles are as good as bullet proof.  There is a trend here of moving to smaller more efficient engines and tuning them more and in many cases adding a turbo. Naturally this is all regular car market stuff and does not apply to the sports car market. Talking of which there are so few American made sports cars. Yes there are plenty of so called muscle cars but compared to their European counterparts they are crude and simply powerful hard to control beasts.

That said GM makes the Corvette which you either love or hate and they have produced an engine for the Corvette with over 1300 BHP so one would assume they are perfectly capable of producing an F1 engine. That said obviously any similarity of that Corvette engine and a current specification F1 engine is literally Apples and Oranges.

The other side of the equation are the F1 teams. One is going to assume their main protest is it will further divide the revenue they currently share. I do not think it is much of anything beyond that.

Personally I think they are determined to increase the Americanism of the sport. A theme I have been banging on about for a long time here in the Banter. I would not be shocked to see more teams from the USA in the future just as we are seeing more races in the USA. I guess I should love that but I do not the venues are garbage. COTA is awesome Miami is laughable and Las Vegas is just a gimmick.

Lets hear your guys thoughts on this subject.

[forzaferrari]

I havent really gave it much thought but suppose I like the thought of a new team coming to the sport, something we havent see in a while as the norm lately has been a rebranding of an existing team.

[PapaofGags]

Yup more the merrier if they are serious, bring back the days of pre qualifying if for no other reason
than to piss off the big teams, Liberty & the F.I.A.

Also can we have V8's back.

I'd better stop as I have a list, feeling grumpy so it might go on a bit.

[Westie]

So a few years back we were hearing talk of teams possibly having to add a 3rd car to make up numbers on the grid... all of a sudden there are enough teams... am confused... so no change there then.

I think there is place on the grid for more teams, it is clear that it's about the slice of the pie. If that pie gets bigger with this new team... then that is what they should be marketing to the other teams.... then the smaller slices will hopefully be worth more. Seems to me the current teams are not convinced.

Also, if America wants F1 it's time they stopped making us feel like we should be grateful they are fielding events and started to earn them. Other places around the world are having to pony up good facilities rather than carpark based tracks like Miami and Las Vegas.... why can't the "richest" nation on the planet do likewise?

[PapaofGags]

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has called on F1 and the 10 teams to be "more encouraging" of General Motors' attempt to enter the sport.

GM confirmed last week it will be partnering with Andretti in a bid to get its effort to join the F1 grid over the line following sustained resistance from the current teams.

GPFans understands, however, there remains ongoing intransigence from within F1, with claims that the use of its Cadillac brand in tandem with Andretti will be nothing more than a badging exercise.

On Sunday, via his personal Twitter account, Ben Sulayem questioned what he felt had been "an adverse reaction" to the Andretti/GM announcement.

Speaking to media this week whilst attending the Dakar Rally, expanding further, Ben Sulayem said: "In general, if we look at the sustainability of Formula 1, we have to open it up to other brands.


Looks like Sulayem is telling the teams to play nice.


"Personally I think they are determined to increase the Americanism of the sport"

You have been saying this for a while & are spot on mate.

"Also, if America wants F1 it's time they stopped making us feel like we should be grateful"

Feeling the same way, Yanks & manners eh?....  

[black]

I'm all for more teams myself.

On a practical level can the pit lanes at all the circuits accommodate more teams? Don't know the answer without googling (cba), but I suspect the number of pit garages is finite.

[NeilP]

I'm all for more teams myself.

On a practical level can the pit lanes at all the circuits accommodate more teams? Don't know the answer without googling (cba), but I suspect the number of pit garages is finite.

The current limit on cars racing is 26 so I would assume there is at least that amount of pits for that amount of cars. We obviously in semi recent times lost Marussia and Caterham so that was 24 car grid

[PapaofGags]

F1 teams pushing to make it even harder for new teams to join.

Formula 1’s existing 10 teams are reportedly pushing for a massive increase in the sport’s entry fee, said to be wanting that to go up from $200 million to $600m.

Formula 1 has what is known as the ‘anti-dilution fund’, money that is payable by all new teams.

It is designed to compensate the existing teams for loss of earnings under F1’s newest Concorde Agreement which rewards all the teams, rather than only those that finish inside the top 10 as was the rule in yesteryear.

At present the money the teams receive is divided by 10 but any new teams mean it would be split between 11 or even 12, the number of teams that the FIA is pushing for.

But in what could be seen as a bid to keep the number down to 10, most notably blocking Michael Andretti and his recent link-up with General Motors from a spot on the grid, the teams are said to be wanting the anti-dilution fund fee to increase from the current $200m to $600m.

According to The Race, ‘with teams wary of suffering any financial loss should the grid get bigger it has been suggested that the anti-dilution fund enshrined in the Concorde Agreement signed in 2020 – which runs from 2021-2025 – should be significantly increased.

‘Now, just as the FIA prepares to open the expressions of interest process and the likes of Andretti ready a formal bid, there is talk of raising the anti-dilution fund to as much as $600m as part of the new Concorde Agreement that needs to be agreed for 2026 onwards.

‘In arguing for this figure, multiple sources drew comparisons to the cost of getting new franchises in US competitions like Major League Soccer ($325m) and the National Hockey League ($650m).

[Westie]

Seems they just don't want Andretti in.

If this gets approved I suspect Formula 1 will die out or at least what we know it as will.  Lets face it, when Audi realise just how hard it is to win and Merc get fed up with not winning constantly and Honda join and leave yet again..... with this rule in place the sport would be dead to any new entries....though I suppose the fiddle will be that if it's below 10 teams,  the fee won't be so high.

Personally I'd like to see some form of concession.  Lets face it the established teams are struggling even with a cost cap in place and the cost cap in turn is preventing anyone from arriving and blasting everyone away as it takes more investment than the cost cap allows in the initial years to be competitive.

I think the teams are becoming the architects of their own demise.  Between them they appear to be writing innovation and competition out of the sport. 

I don't know who is right and who is wrong but having a stranglehold on who is able to compete is not in the spirit of competition... it's "match fixing" on a grand scale and when we have too much of this aired for us it makes the "show" less apealing. 

I read somewhere the other day that the Netherlands was one of the biggest markets for Formula 1 apparently bigger than the US (not sure I believe it) supposedly due to MVS and it made me think.... are we gonna be stuck watching that f$^&£wit win more races for as long as that market remains as bouyant as it is?  Is any of his success really down to his ability?  I mean it's not like any of us have thought - Wow there goes a talented lad who's a clean fast racer...

And now I'm rambling and off topic.

If that big a price tag buys you into the sport then it doesn't seem beyond comprehension that for a "few" dollars more it can buy you championships.....but that would take some mega cheating... which as we know is fine as the last two years have shown us.