Formula 1

F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali Willing To Consider 11th Team For The F1 Grid

Stefano Domenicali, CEO of Formula 1, has said that he would be willing to consider bringing an eleventh team to the grid, so long as it would not have a negative impact on the rest of the teams.

Since Liberty Media took over the motorsport, the value of the current ten teams has increased massively and with the popularity of the sport growing, it might be something the CEO is willing to consider.

During an investors’ call after the end of the third quarter, Domenicali explained:

“It is not a problem having one more team to have better racing, therefore we will see and we will monitor the situation,

“If there would be a real, credible new entry that wants to discuss with us, we are ready to discuss, but we are not in a rushed position today for that.”

Domenicali continued to explain that if they did decide to bring on another team, it would only be if it didn’t come with a price to the current teams which is something Mercedes team principal, Toto Wolff, has been vocal about. Domenicali added:

“With regard to the value or the process of the possibility of bringing a new F1 team into the championship, of course, there is the primary step that both us and the FIA have to be in agreement on that,”

“And I think the first thing that we need to consider is, will this eventual possibility bring extra value to the championship?

“If so, of course, we are going to discuss it internally and we will see if there is any kind of real potential for a new entry that can give value to the championship.

Domenicali and the FIA are clearly weighing up whether an eleventh team is worth it for the grid. He continued:

“On top of this, there is a value that has to be recognised to the teams that are already in the championship, because, of course, they cannot allow any dilution of their partnership with the F1 championship.

“This is what is written in the Concorde Agreement but mainly, the point is that does a new entry bring a better position for the F1 world championship?

“This is really in terms of value from a financial point of view and in terms of value from a sporting point of view.”

The popularity of the sport has grown massively in the last few years, especially after the ‘Drive To Survive’ Netflix series which helped catapult the sport into the American fanbase.

With just a week to go until the Brazilian Grand Prix, which is the penultimate race of the 2022 season, Max Verstappen has already won the driver’s championship and Red Bull have won the constructor’s championship. However, the battle for second and third continues between Mercedes and Red Bull, and Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc.

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