Toto Wolff adds to 11th F1 team debate: "The value of the sport is in having a limited amount of franchises"

The possibility of an 11th team in F1 has been discussed for a long time now. Ever since news of Mario Andretti trying to build a new F1 team surfaced, the entire paddock has debated whether bringing more teams will benefit the sport or not. Recently, FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem also tweeted about how the governing body has considered adding a new team to the sport.

Toto Wolff, the Mercedes team principal, expressed how he is against the idea and explained how it will dilute all the finances. Since teams obtain their annual income from the prize pot, adding more teams will decrease the amount of money being distributed amongst all the teams competing in the sport. Wolff said:

“If a team comes in, how can you demonstrate that you’re bringing in more money than it’s actually costing: because the 11th team means a 10 percent dilution for everybody else.”

Toto Wolff further mentioned how the new teams that could join the sport in the future will most likely not have enough money to increase the prize pot and maintain the amount that is given to each team. The Mercedes boss also spoke about how F1 will benefit from a limited number of franchises. He said:

“So, if one is able to demonstrate that, then we should all be sitting on the table, and cheer for such an entry. But that hasn’t been demonstrated yet. And that may sound a bit dry, because it comes down to the numbers, but the value of Formula 1 is that it’s a limited amount of franchises. And we don’t want to dilute that value by just adding teams.”

---

Mario Andretti aims for his team to join F1 grid by 2024

As of now, only Mario Andretti is planning to start his new team and join the sport. The former Italian-American racing driver has shown tremendous interest in joining F1 in the future with his team.

Speaking to SoyMotor, Andretti explained where his new team will operate from and his aim to join the grid in 2024 so that they can get comfortable before the new regulations come in 2026. He also mentioned how he has good communication with the FIA and is positive about his team's entry into F1. He said:

"Ultimately, the operational team would be in the UK, but the main hub would be in Indianapolis. Mainly because most of the equipment to build the chassis and everything would be there... I think 2024 is the target because you try to organize a lot of things before the new regulations of 2026 arrive. The sooner you start, the better. We are having discussions with the FIA, and I can say that there are a lot of things that are progressing."

With the FIA president also tweeting about launching an Expressions of Interest process to allow new teams to join the grid, the chances of Andretti's team joining the sport have increased drastically.