Pat Symonds has defended F1 and its holders’ reluctance to welcome Michael Andretti’s motorsport empire into the sport.
Andretti, currently heavily backed by GM/Cadillac, has the backing of the governing FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile) for a 2025 or 2026 F1 team entry bid, but still wants Mercedes F1 faces opposition from leading teams, incl
But McLaren Racing chief executive Zak Brown welcomed Andretti.
“We are a partner of the Walkinshaw supercar team and I think he has made a very compelling offer,” said Brown.
“We haven’t had a new team for a long time since Haas joined, and the Andretti name has so much history in different categories of motorsport.”
But Brown is hesitant to comment on rumors that current F1 teams are asking Andretti for an entry fee well in excess of $200 million.
“I’m not part of the process itself, but I know he works closely with the FIA and F1.”
Pat Symonds, who remains F1’s chief technology officer, said he understood the reluctance of current teams.
“There’s nothing wrong with having more cars,” said Pat Simmons.
“But we don’t want to go back to the HRT era.”
“But it’s not surprising that people want to be here. Over the last five years, we’ve managed to turn a loss-making sport into a profitable one.”
“Of course, existing teams will always oppose the entry of new teams, because if the prize pool is divided into 12 instead of 10, less money will be won.”
Category: F1 / Andretti
