"We don't look at market share": FIA president's olive branch to Andretti's F1 bid

FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem recently explained how F1 should promote more teams in the sport and not block them off just because of profit and financial dilution. One of the top interested parties that wants to enter the sport as a team, Andretti-Cadillac, has been blocked off by teams that are already in the sport, simply because a new team will dilute the prize pool even more.

However, Mohammed Ben Sulayem has clearly stated that Formula 1 is a 'non-profit' organization that should focus more on promoting motorsport around the world. Speaking to Racer, he said:

“Imagine us saying no to [the possibility of] potential teams. We are here to sustain motorsport and sustain the business. We don’t look at market share; we are a non-profit, and we have been established for 118 years in motorsport. I don’t want any big team to take us to court and say that we have been blocking them for the wrong reasons.”

Ben Sulayem further stated how the FIA will look into all the departments of the new team to confirm whether they are ready for F1 or not. Once they are, they should be allowed to participate. He also feels a team from the United States, like Andretti-Cadillac, will be great for the sport. The FIA President added:

“Yes, we opened the expression of interest. They come in, we do the due diligence, we check, we look into it, we look at their financial sides, technical sides, and we also look at where we see ourselves in the years to come. F1 is commercially sustainable, but then I look at the sports side. If we get a United States team, that would be good.”

Apart from Andretti-Cadillac, there could be other entrants like Hitech GP, Hyundai, etc. who could start planning to enter, provided F1 creates an easier and accepting path for them.

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Mario Andretti provides update on his team trying to enter F1

Mario Andretti, a former F1 world champion, recently provided an update on his team's progress, stating that all requirements for entry have been met and that the FIA and the sport now have the initiative. He stated that another update could come around early September. Speaking to RacingNews365, he said:

"From our standpoint, we're just going along with the process and trying to fill in all the boxes. We've done it all and now it is in [the FIA and F1's] hands and it is just a waiting situation now, but we should know something shortly. There is not a specific timeline, but we have been told early September [to expect a decision]. Not only [is coming in in 2025] beneficial, but it is a key factor."

Andretti teamed up with Cadillac to further expand their team and try to enter the sport with more financial stability and resources. Only time will tell whether they will be allowed to race as the 11th team on the grid in the future or not.