Horner - "Unfair" for F1 teams "to pay" for new team

Horner, Red Bull, Australia — Photo: © LAT Images

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Horner - "Unfair" for F1 teams "to pay" for new team

F1's prize money structure means new teams will dilute others' winnings

Ewan Gale

Sunday 15 May 2022 08:00

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner believes it would be "unfair" for all 10 F1 teams to have to pay for a new team to enter the sport.

Andretti Global has publically announced its intention to join the grid from 2024, taking the number of teams to 11 for the first time since Manor withdrew ahead of the 2017 season.

Whilst the move would make sense given F1's growing market in the United States, the outfit has not been greeted with open arms by the majority of the grid.

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Explaining why, Horner said: "Well, obviously, you know naturally for the current signatories to the Concorde agreement, it makes total logical sense to say that the 10 teams or 10 franchises have an intrinsic value and you dilute that by increasing the number.

"You know, theoretically, it should be a Liberty [Media's] issue to address if they want new teams to come in.

"And to expand the number beyond 10, then fiscally, it was always going to come down to a question of how does that affect the distribution of the prize fund? So, money is ultimately going to be a significant factor.

"Ultimately, I see a question really for, you know, for the promoter, that if they want more teams, they're obviously going to have to dilute their share of the fund, because it would be unfair to expect the other teams to pay for the additional new entrants to come in indirectly.

"So that's always going to be the conflict you have."

On top of the interest from Andretti, Porsche and Audio have made public their ambitions to join the grid in 2026, although this will likely be as a power unit partner to an existing team.

Horner added: "I think it's great that there's the interest from both OEMs and a brand and a team like Andretti, you know, it's a great name.

"[It would be] better if Mario came back driving, but, you know, I think it's something that really Liberty, it's their business model that they need to work out for the future."

Steiner - "More doesn't mean being better"

Haas team principal Guenther Steiner sat alongside Horner during the questioning and urged F1 for quality over quantity.

"As businesses, I think, first of all, we have got in the moment 10 stable teams, which for a long time was not possible in F1, or was not happening in F1," said Steiner.

"Now, for five years, everything is pretty stable, very good. And why would the 10 teams say we will dilute our value to bring somebody new in, you know, what's in it for us? We have been here a long time.

"So I mean, if FOM wants to distribute more money or something that is another discussion, but just to have more teams, more doesn’t mean being better."