Throughout the season, news has been coming out about possible new teams joining the premier class of motorsport. With the end of the alliance between Alfa Romeo and Sauber, the Swiss team announced that starting with the 2024 season they will be called Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber.
Although this was officially announced on the F1 2024 entry list, the team released a statement saying that this will not be the official name and the one that will be used during the next season will be revealed on January 1st of next year, possibly since it was not liked by fans.
On the other hand, many proposals by teams and organisations that want to be in the category from the 2026 season have come to light. However, almost all of them seem to have been dismissed by the FIA.
We are talking about teams that already have a presence in other categories, such as Hitech, who are already in Formula 2, Formula 3 and even Formula 4. Another organization that has made public its intention to be within the category was Rodin Carlin. Current F1 drivers such as Norris, Russell, Sainz and Magnussen were with this team in the different lower categories, so they have experience.
Photo Credit: Scuderia Ferrari
The team that seems to have the best chance of being in the category starting in the 2026 season is Andretti Cadillac Racing. Since 2021, Andretti tried to buy Sauber, however, this did not happen. At the beginning of this year, Andretti announced an alliance with General Motors, specifically with Cadillac, so their proposal became even stronger.
For its part, Andretti already has a team in categories such as IndyCar, Formula E, IMSA and Extreme E. The FIA has approved this team to join the starting grid in said season, but how beneficial is having an 11th team in Formula 1?
Ferrari’s team principal, Fred Vasseur, has shared his thoughts on bringing an eleventh team to the F1 starting grid. He believes a star driver is more important than an additional team, citing Max Verstappen boosting the sport massively in The Netherlands as an example.
“For sure there is room for an eleventh team if that team is bringing something to F1. We spoke about the coverage on the country of the team, but for me it’s not the right approach. The approach is that… Formula 1 is a success in the countries where the drivers are successful. If you have a look today, the biggest success [country] for F1 is The Netherlands because of Verstappen, and it means it’s more a matter of drivers than the team, the nationality of the team.”
“You have Haas with an American team. If you are speaking about Andretti, they will join with exactly the same system as Haas. If we want to be very successful in the US, I think it’s more important to bring American drivers and successful American drivers than an American team.
“When we opened the door for an eleventh team four or five years ago, the situation was completely different in F1.”
Fred Vasseur comments that the Concorde Agreement, which has been in force since 2021 and will end until 2025, means that the number of engine suppliers as well as car manufacturers was already planned, so adding a new team in 2026 would bring a new analysis of every possible detail in this agreement.
“Today we are in a different situation. We have six engine suppliers. Some of my colleagues are saying that it’s too much because we won’t have two teams per engine supplier. So, it’s not on this topic that it will be a huge asset for F1.
“If the question is about media coverage, I think it’s much more a matter of drivers than the nationality of the teams.”
