Haas team boss Gunther Steiner believes granting a new team entry on to the Formula 1 grid is “just risk” amid the FIA’s process to consider future entries.
F1’s governing body announced last week it had set up a process for potential new teams to join the series as early as 2025, following emerging interest from several prospective entrants.
The most vocal around its bid to join the grid is Andretti, who has already revealed it is joining forces with American car giant General Motors to be considered for a future entry.
But Steiner, whose Haas squad remains the most recent outfit to have joined the sport back in 2016, raised concern that F1’s current climate – aided by its recent rise in popularity – could collapse if it expands the field.
Speaking to Sky F1, Steiner said: “Five years ago you could get teams for nothing. You could pick it up, nobody wanted them, they went out of business. Now all of a sudden everybody wants a team.
“But it’s a lot of people which want to come in just right away for Formula 1 is on it. And the 10 teams which are here, they are all financially stable, they are all well set up. It’s a very good environment in the moment. Nobody’s struggling.
“So if you put an 11th team in and if you get a little bit a dip in the economy or something, all of a sudden it’s all there. People maybe struggle to survive. So why take that risk if there is no upside?”
F1 has moved to stress successful applicants will only be approved once it has received consent from both itself and the FIA.
Steiner further questioned what the benefits would be for existing outfits if F1 welcomed an 11th team, claiming there was “no upside”.
“An 11th team, what upside is it bringing?” he said. “It’s not [for] me to decide, it’s for FOM to decide because they are managing more – FOM and FIA – the business side of it, of general F1.
“But there is no upside in the moment for an 11th team to come for the other teams. So there is just risk, no benefit.”
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