Haas boss Guenther Steiner tells Sky Sports F1 that an 11th team would bring "no benefit" or "upside" and only risks; Andretti announced plans to enter Formula 1 in 2026 last month after partnering with General Motors and Cadillac
Friday 10 February 2023 11:40, UK
Guenther Steiner says Haas are against Andretti joining the Formula 1 grid as there is "just risk, no benefit" from an 11th outfit.
Andretti confirmed plans to bring an "all-American team" to F1 after partnering with General Motors and its luxury brand Cadillac in January, with the sport's governing FIA welcoming an entry from 2026.
Their arrival, however, also needs approval from F1 themselves as well as the teams.
So far, Andretti have admitted that only McLaren and Alpine are their "allies" backing their bid.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 on Friday, Steiner confirmed that Haas - who are currently the only 'US' F1 team but have their main car base in the UK in Banbury - were opposed to an 11th team.
"What upside is it bringing?" said the Haas team principal. "There is just risk, no benefit."
He explained: "Five years ago, you could get teams for nothing, you could pick it up. Nobody wanted them and they went out of business.
"Now, all of a sudden, everybody wants a team. But it's a lot of people that want to come in and the 10 teams which are here are all financially stable, all well set up. It's a very good environment at the moment, no one is struggling.
"If you put an 11th team in and we get a little bit of a dip in the economy or something all of a sudden maybe people are maybe struggling to survive.
"Why take that risk if there is no upside? It's not up to me to decide."
F1 teams' biggest concern appears to be a dilution of the prize money with an 11th outfit, although Andretti feel their entry brings far more positives than negatives.
"We check all the boxes," said Michael Andretti. "The only box we didn't have checked when we were working on our entry was, we didn't have an OEM behind us, but now we have GM and Cadillac behind us. They are going to bring a lot to the party to help us get a race car on track.
"We are very bullish at this moment."
