F1 News: Ex-Team Principal Working With American Investors To Join As 11th Team

Saajan Jogia | Jul 30, 2024

Sergio Perez of Mexico driving the (11) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB19 and Valtteri Bottas of Finland driving the (77) Alfa Romeo F1 C43 Ferrari battle for track position during the F1 Grand Prix of Hungary at Hungaroring on July 23, 2023 in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) / Red Bull Content Pool

Former Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer has announced that he is working with American investors to secure funding for the creation of an eleventh Formula 1 team. His efforts are aimed at ensuring a seamless entry into the sport, avoiding the challenges that hindered Andretti Cadillac's bid for participation by Formula One Management (FOM).

The addition of an 11th team in the premier class has been a topic of controversy since last year after Andretti Cadillac was approved for F1 entry by the FIA but was denied by the FOM, citing the reason that the American team did not bring enough value to the sport.

FOM sent out a clear message that instead of entering as a new team, Andretti Cadillac should buy or partner with an existing team on the grid to enter the sport. However, none of the ten teams are currently up for sale. Despite that, Andretti seems to have other plans, considering how it gears up aggressively for the development of its 2026 title contender at its new factory in Silverstone.

Szafnauer, who has been without a role in F1 since his exit from Alpine in July last year, is working on a new itinerary management app being used in F1 and other motor racing series, called EventR. As he seeks opportunities to return to Formula 1 after the end of his gardening leave, he revealed a new project in the US that has shown interest in Formula 1. Speaking in the latest episode of the 'James Allen on F1' podcast, Szafnauer said:

"I'm a competitor and the one thing that I like more than anything is the competition.

"So, to come back in a role where I can't influence how well the team is competing, I don't think I'd be interested.

"If it was a role where I could help develop, build, attract the right people to improve a team's competitiveness, I'd be interested.

"But you know, there's only 10 teams. A lot of them have people in those roles already. So, I don't know how many opportunities there are out there, but there's also the 11th and 12th team possibility. So that might be something that would be interesting for me.

"I've been working with some organisations in North America that have the funding to start an 11th team.

"It's not Andretti. Now we're just putting some of those building blocks in place to make sure that we have everything that's required in order to be successful to both start a team, but also get an entry. So, you know, that's interesting too."