"Oscar Piastri had to spend a year on the bench" - Karun Chandhok backs Andretti's bid to be the 11th F1 team on the grid

Former F1 driver and Sky Sports pundit Karun Chandhok mentioned that he was personally in favor of having Andretti on the grid as the 11th team as it would give opportunities to drivers like Oscar Piastri who were left without a seat for a year.

The F1 world has been split about having Andretti Autosport as the 11th team in the sport after FIA allowed the American giant to enter the sport. Andretti will now need the agreement from FOM and F1 teams to have a place on the grid in the future.

In his column for Sky Sports, Karun Chandhok gave his take on having an extra team on the grid. He wrote:

"From a neutral sporting perspective, I believe that having two extra cars on the grid is good for the sport, good for the show and good for young drivers coming through the ladder."

"I thought it was unfair that a supremely talented driver like Oscar Piastri had to spend a year on the bench as the reigning F2 champion because there weren't enough seats. Likewise, Esteban Ocon, Felipe Drugovich and now Liam Lawson."

Chandhok continued:

"There are plenty of people in the paddock who are very quick to discredit the Andretti operation. Maybe these teams will be right and Andretti will fail. Maybe they won't add any value to the championship by bringing in additional income. But unless they actually enter, we won't know the answers.

F1 pundit speaks on the resistance to Andretti Autosport

Chandhok stated that Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff and Aston Martin F1 owner Lawrence Stroll have publicly spoken against having the American giant on the grid as they believe that the sport is in a good position financially.

He explained:

"The likes of Toto Wolff and Lawrence Stroll have taken a clear public stance against the Andretti project but without going too heavily into the details. Mercedes for example, have just published their financials showing a profit of over $100m in 2022, although about 19 percent of that included their Applied Science division.

Teams like Williams have been outspoken about not favoring Andretti's entry into the sport as they believe sharing revenue with another team will not yield financial profits for them.

It will be fascinating to see if any teams change their stance on having the American giants on the grid in the future or if will it be a losing battle for Andretti.