Formula 1 and the FIA are currently assessing submissions from new teams to join the sport; Mercedes chief Toto Wolff says the ten current teams should be able to dictate whether new entrants are accepted.
Up to half-a-dozen submissions have been made to the FIA proposing a new team for the F1 grid, with president Mohammed Ben Sulayem describing ‘three or four’ of them as ‘very serious’.
Mr Sulayem is determined that more teams should be allowed; he seems to prefer Michael Andretti’s submission.
Various counter-justifications have been voiced; it is reasoned that more than 20 cars on a track at any one time are potentially dangerous.
One of the practical issues that have cropped up concerning the new teams is that many of F1’s current tracks do not have enough garages to accommodate them.
Ben Sulayem has dismissed such problems, saying, ‘We are running an 11th team already because of Hollywood.’
He was referring to the Apple, Brad Pitt, F1 film, which has its own garage at certain tracks.
Mohammed Ben Sulayem has warned a potential new Formula 1 team could take the FIA to court if their application to join is declined.
The governing body has yet to decide which of those submissions meets the requirements for a new team.
Assuming the FIA approves any of those proposals, there will be a refusal to accept of within the F1 itself.
The majority of the ten teams are reluctant to accept a smaller slice of the financial pie.
