"Nope, don’t support Andretti" - Lewis Hamilton issues clarification on his stance for an 11th team on the F1 grid

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton recently mentioned that he was not in favor of having an 11th team on the grid after FIA approved Andretti Racing's bid to enter Formula 1.

Hamilton, the seven-time world champion, took to social media to clarify the comments. The Brit stated that he was not in favor of the American Motorsport giant joining the grid.

Lewis Hamilton said on his social media:

"Nope, don’t support Andretti. Just the idea of another team in the future if it’s a chance to make our sport more diverse."

On his media duties on Thursday of the 2023 F1 Qatar GP, Lewis Hamilton stated that he was in favor of having an extra team on the grid as it would provide more job opportunities in the sport. As per The Race, he said:

“I’ve always felt there weren’t enough cars on the grid. And so, whilst I think there will definitely be people who won’t be happy for me to be so supportive of it, I think it’s great because it’s an opportunity for more jobs, another two seats available for a potential female driver to come through. It opens up more possibilities and I think it will be more exciting for the racing.”

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Lewis Hamilton's teammate gives his take on Andretti joining the grid

George Russell was very much on the fence while speaking about Andretti Racing's possibility of joining the grid and having an 11th team in the sport.

In his pre-race press conference, Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes teammate did not really have a strong opinion on the topic and gave a very diplomatic response. He said:

"We want to see competition, in an ideal world you want to see all ten teams fighting against one another. So I'm sure F1 will come to the best conclusion and answer whatever it may be, but we've got to have quality over quantity. But as I said, I don’t feel strongly.

Many other F1 drivers and teams have been split while voicing their opinions on having an 11th team on the grid. Some were worried about the sharing of the prize money between the teams.

Andretti needs the approval of the teams and F1 management to get a chance to field a team on the grid in the coming years. But if important entities like Lewis Hamilton are not totally in favor of having them in the sport it would be a bit difficult for them in the future.