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Horner fights for smaller teams: 'Andretti team will be too expensive'

Horner fights for smaller teams: 'Andretti team will be too expensive'

12-08-2022 08:21 Last update: 13-08-2022 08:48
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GPblog.com

As Formula 1 's popularity expands in the United States, fans are also clamouring for a big-brand American F1 team. Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner is also hoping for a new team, but only if the financials are right.

Horner wants Penske or Andretti to come

Indeed, the Brit explains that the entry of a new team ultimately means that the existing teams receive less money from the organisation and therefore have to invest more money themselves. This is especially difficult for the smaller teams. Nevertheless, Horner hopes that in time another American team will enter Formula 1 alongside Haas F1. Horner says to Soymotor.com: "It would be great, fantastic really. Those [Penske and Andretti] are two big names, very prestigious, and we need an American team. We have Haas, of course, but we need a big name."

In NASCAR, Haas is a name of stature, but in Formula 1, the Haas cars have been the slowest on the circuit recent years. The 2022 car, however, looks like a big step up for the team. Horner thinks another American team suits F1's current DNA. After all, there are already three races on the calendar that are held in the United States.

'New team is unfair for smaller teams'

Horner must add to his wish that new teams can only be created if it is financially viable: "The problem is how to tackle this financially. If materials are provided [for the new team] then the budget for the existing ten teams will be diluted. This is something that worries the promoter of the championship, and therefor Stefano Domenicali. It is difficult to explain that smaller teams have to give up five, ten or fifteen million for the entry of a new team."