Maffei reacts to Andretti: 'That he is an American can be positive

Michael Andretti is extremely eager to start an F1 team, but it's not going to be as easy as he thought. Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei responds to the American's numerous requests.

Andretti says he already has everything in the starting blocks to start a new F1 team. He also says that money is no problem for him. Yet the former driver has not yet managed to enter the exclusive F1 world. The teams, the FIA and Liberty Media have very strict requirements for a new team, of which money is not the least important.

High demand for people to help with expansions

In conversation with AP News Maffei shines light on Liberty Media's perspective on the matter: "We already have ten great teams now and we have the potential to add to that in the future. We have a lot of demand for people who want to add teams, both for buying a tean and for expanding a team." Buying a team and expanding it just doesn't seem to involve the "adding teams" that Andretti is so keen on.

Andretti often cites as a trump card the fact that he is an American and that an American team fits with Liberty Media which wants to make the sport more popular in the United States. Maffei: "I think there are a lot of factors and if you are an American, that can be a positive. We just look at all the things that a team can potentially bring and that's not just access to new markets." Maffei lists, "We look at big investments they are dealing with, at the marketing, at the technology... All these things are interesting to us."