“Saying no to a team approved by the FIA is hard”, says the president of the FIA Mohammed Ben Sulayem, as he speaks out in support of more teams joining the grid after giving Andretti the green light, subject to approval from Formula One.
As the 2024 race calendar is set to provide fans with the excitement of 24 races in the F1 season, Sulayem is against the idea of expanding the racing calendar and instead, his focus is on expanding the grid and filling the 12 team slots. With the other 10 teams on the grid also opposing the idea based on financial grounds, Sulayem told Reuters:
“Saying no to a team which has been approved by the FIA – it’s very hard.
If you say: ‘What is my dream?’ It is to fill up the 12 [team slots] and to have one US team from an OEM [original equipment manufacturer] and a [power unit] and a driver from there.
“And then go to China maybe and ask for the same thing and do it.”
It is not just the sharing of the prize pot that concerns the existing teams on the grid but that of certain circuits, such as Zandvoort and Monaco not having the garage capacity to house any more teams.
However, the president seems set on filling up those two remaining spaces on the grid and, in response to the lack of sufficient garage space, pointed out the filming of Brad Pitt’s F1 movie, which has been filmed at some races this season:
“We are allowed to have 12 teams [in the rules].
“Some of the teams said, ‘Oh, it will be crowded’. Really? We are already running a Hollywood team with us!
“The circuits are supposed to have enough garages and space for 12 teams.
“I think the number of races is too much [rather] than the number of teams. We need more teams and fewer races.
“The teams are looking at the piece of cake. I understand their worries… but our worries are different.”
