Explained: The $700m fee slapped on Andretti by angry F1 rivals
The start to 2023 has been dominated by the FIA’s desire to welcome new teams to the grid, firstly announced by FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem on Twitter.
Shortly after, Andretti announced the launch of their bid to enter 2026, teaming up with Cadillac and General Motors.
As expected, F1 and the teams have been lukewarm towards the idea of an 11th or 12th team coming in.
It is understood that only Alpine - who plan to provide Andretti with engines - and McLaren - whose CEO, Zak Brown, has a good relationship with Michael Andretti - are somewhat supportive of Andretti.
The rest of the teams, particularly Mercedes and Toto Wolff, are concerned about how much value a team like Andretti would give to the sport.
Other constructors are concerned that they would receive less prize money as a result of more teams being added, arguably putting their own personal interests ahead of the sport's.
In 2020, as part of the new Concord Agreement, all new entrants must pay a $200 million ‘dilution fund’ to “protect the value of the teams”.
The $200 million would help ensure all teams’ revenue remains stable because if additional teams are participating in F1, the overall pot would be shared out between more than just 10, meaning less revenue for each team as a result.
However, as explained in a report by the BBC, some team bosses are now questioning whether $200 million is enough.
A figure around $600m to $700m has been reported to better represent an entry free into the pinnacle of motorsport as a number of teams have argued that $200m “significantly undervalues” a spot in F1 and cited other examples in American sports, such as NHL, which require a higher fee.
With a sharp eye for F1’s controversies and storylines, Connor is the heartbeat of our unbiased reporting.
