Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali asserts that the sport doesn’t need to expand beyond 10 teams.
For the last several years, F1 has operated with 10 outfits on the grid, however there has been interest from parties in joining as an 11th team.
Some fans have pushed for the inclusion of new teams, given there are arguments that there are too few seats available to accommodate F1-worthy talent.
But Domenicali says F1 risks becoming too crowded if it allows one or two more teams to join the grid.
“As always, you need to be balanced,” Domenicali told Sky F1. “You need to see all the things that are around the table. Having more drivers… at the end of the day there is always a limit at which you can go.
“Adding one or two, you may open up some driving seats. But we need to also have the right dimension in what is successful for the sport.
“I think in that respect there is the evaluation of the sustainability of the team, the evaluation of not being too crowded with that. So I would say in terms of priority, it is not really a need for Formula 1 today.”
Audi will enter F1 in 2026 as an engine manufacturer, but they are also expected to take a majority stake in the Sauber-run Alfa Romeo squad to field its own team.
Michael Andretti has expressed interest in setting up an F1 organisation, however the plan has been met with resistance from some current teams.
Explaining the reluctance over Andretti, Domenicali said: “Now Formula 1 is extremely competitive but you need to be very strong in terms of financials, in terms of competence, and today this is one of the things that is crucial, to make sure the stability of the system will be for a long time.
“You see how difficult today it is to find people that really are the top quality in all the different business. I don’t think that today that is something we will be able to say with faith.
“I think that is the time that we need to invest for the future, but we need to be balanced. So I’m not saying that this will not happen, but we need to take it step by step.”
GFY Dom!!!
The fans think otherwise!
I have long regarded Domenicali as a nice guy, but he now needs to grow a pair and show a tougher side to his nature, because he is in danger of becoming a sock-puppet for the corporate bullshitters behind the scenes of Formula One. With his unctuous and depressing paean to Las Vegas, the city of slime, and now this vacuous defence of the status quo against any prospect of increasing the heat of competition, he is sounding more like a tasteless and immoral public relations mouthpiece, who’ll say whatever his masters demand to keep his spoon in the gravy, than an authoritative senior executive with a plan to make constant improvements to the sport over which he has influence. Domenicali has intelligence and personality, but I am concerned that he has a total lack of backbone to support those qualities.