Mario Andretti’s son Michael, a former F1 driver, is one of several parties bidding to join the F1 grid.
General Motors is supporting Andretti Global.
Mario let slip the FIA decision for new F1 teams after Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s praise.
According to the latest news, the FIA has confirmed that Andretti Global has succeeded in passing the due diligence requirements.
Team Williams has been most vocal and categorically against the new intruder.
There are three main objections: The valuation of the existing teams will be negatively impacted, there will be a dilution of income from the FOM, and additional competition for sponsorship.
Aston Martin, Williams, Ferrari and AlphaTauri are the most vociferous in their objections to additional team(s) joining.
Mohamed Ben Sulayem strongly wants to see Andretti join the circus.
He believes that the FIA is the master of the F1 World Championship, making Formula One Management the leaseholders.
In this case, he feels the FIA, of which he is president, should exercise control over which teams participate.
It will be interesting to see how Liberty Group-owned Formula One Management responds.
