Horner’s advises Andretti to do what Red Bull did: “That has been the procedure”
Andretti Autosport want to become part of the F1 grid but have faced stiff backlash. The FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has come under pressure for his welcoming of them.
However, although the FIA have opened the possibility of an 11th team joining F1, Red Bull team principal Horner wants to see Andretti follow in the footsteps of his own team.
“Red Bull Racing was Jaguar, which was Stewart Ford,” Horner told the Daily Mail.
“You look at Mercedes, that goes all the way back through Honda to British American Racing to Tyrell. Aston Martin go back to being a Jordan team.
“That has been the procedure for many years.
“There's absolutely nothing against Andretti, they're great people and Cadillac is a wonderful brand, but we need to come up with a criteria for 2026 that doesn't diminish the value of, particularly, the smaller teams, and deals with the elephant in the room of: who is actually going to pay for it?
“In terms of a new entrant, putting down a down-payment that doesn't devalue the 10th franchise, and at the same time, Liberty and the teams accepting that inevitably compromises need to be made.
“There is, of course, also the practical elements of: are there enough garages at some of these new venues that we go to, to accommodate an 11th team? It needs to be dealt with in the right way.
“Andretti is a great team, Mario Andretti is a name synonymous with Formula One… Cadillac, GM, is one of the biggest car manufacturers in the world. So it would be great to see them in the sport, but it's just got to be done properly.”
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
