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More competition on the F1 grid is welcome, according to Williams CEO Jost Capito, who feels Andretti Autosports 'would be a good addition' to the sport.
Earlier in February, two-time F1 world champion and American motorsport legend Mario Andretti confirmed that his son had applied to be a constructor in the sport in 2024. Capito, who claims to know the Andretti family well, has over three decades of experience in motorsports and had a brief stint in F1 with McLaren in 2016.
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During a media interaction session, the 63-year-old discussed the prospect of adding Andretti as the 11th team on the F1 grid in the future. Capito said:
“To have Andretti coming in, I worked with Michael in the US with Volkswagen. They ran the rallycross team for Volkswagen for five years, so I worked pretty closely with him. I respect them. He’s got good people, and he would be a good addition to Formula 1, that’s absolutely for sure.”
The Williams CEO went on to add, saying:
“If we’ve got 24 cars, the past has proven that this is a good number and that Formula 1 can take it, so this is fine," continued Capito, on the prospect of new teams joining the sport. I think the more cars you have up to a certain limit, and the limit is 24, as I’ve seen, then the better it is for the sport.”
Not all teams have been as supportive of Andretti's bid and the news has left some of the established names in the sport worried.
Andretti Autosports agrees deal with Renault for F1 power units ahead of 2024 entry
Mario Andretti has also confirmed that the team has a formal agreement in place with Renault for their F1 power unit when they join the sport in 2024.
During an interview with David Land, the senior Andretti said:
“We’re not just new boys in town. We know the prerequisites and also there’s a time factor here. Once we said go ahead, we’ve got to go. So a lot of work has been done. We know where the facility is going to be built in the UK. We know we have people, prominent individuals that have done this type of work as far as start-ups. We have a lot of things in mind.”
The American dismissed the rumors surrounding his team choosing Mercedes or Ferrari, saying:
“We have formal agreement now on the engine supplier and it’s out there, it’s going to be Renault and I’m allowed to say it now. There was a lot of speculation from Toto Wolff, he was concerned about potentially it being Ferrari, Ferrari would have more votes than he would have, so on and so forth. There’s a lot of steps to take here and I understand that, it’s a huge undertaking. But we’re ready for it. We have incredible partners on our side, Michael does, and we’re there for the duration.”
Meanwhile, Alpine boss Laurent Rossi feels the arrival of Andretti's name could 'spice things up' in F1. Alpine is also currently powered by Renault.
