"No wonder the establishment are worried" - F1 reporter claims Andretti funding is making top teams insecure

F1 pundit Will Buxton believes the reason Andretti Autosport’s bid for an entry into the sport has been met with resistance is due to the American outfit’s funding. Buxton claims Andretti’s ability to pay the $200 million entry fee as “chump change” has made existing teams nervous.

In a tweet posted late last week, Buxton wrote:

“Speaking to a lot of folks in the IndyCar paddock this weekend. The Andretti F1 project is serious. Very serious. They could pay the entry fee as chump change. And in a non budget capped era have funding to make the top 3 wince. No wonder the establishment are worried.”

Andretti Autosport, owned by former F1 world champion Mario Andretti’s son Michael Andretti, has applied for an entry in 2024. The initiative comes after its previous attempt to take over the Alfa Romeo-Sauber outfit failed.

While the FIA is considering the outfit’s application, support for the new outfit has been mixed. Several of the sport’s leading figures, such as Toto Wolff and Christian Horner, expressed skepticism about the new outfit’s financial viability.

Wolff had earlier claimed that any new outfit seeking entry into the sport should be able to “add value”, while Horner had claimed that the new outfit would need to “prove its credentials”.

Meanwhile, McLaren CEO Zak Brown offered his full support to Andretti’s bid. He criticized his fellow team bosses, claiming that Michael Andretti’s over two decades of experience across various categories was enough credentials.

---

Martin Brundle doesn’t expect upcoming F1 season to top an “epic” 2021 season

F1 driver-turned-TV pundit Martin Brundle doesn’t expect the 2022 F1 season to top last season, despite promising new regulations. The Briton believes the new regulations could potentially spread out the field, leading to lesser on-track action compared to an “epic” 2021 season.

Speaking of the sport’s prospects in 2022 during an interview with Sky Sports, Brundle said:

“These regulations are designed to close the pack up and allow the cars to follow each other a little bit better. Hopefully, some more organic overtaking rather than just with the rear window, the DRS, as we call it. But initially, a massive change of regulations like this tends to scatter the pack a little bit with the haves and the have nots, and then they start moving back together, you know.”

The 2022 technical regulations are aimed at solving one of the biggest issues plaguing the sport in recent years – a lack of organic overtaking, i.e., without any aids. The new rules make it easier for cars to follow each other closely through high speeds, thereby increasing the chances of close-quarters wheel-to-wheel combat.

Given that the new regulation changes are also some of the biggest in the sport’s history, many teams might get it wrong and be off the pace.