After a standoff against the FOM and Stefano Domenicali, Mohammed Ben Sulayem managed to obtain entry into F1 for an 11th team, Cadillac.
Having barely achieved this arrival, Mohammed Ben Sulayem begins the second, or rather the twelfth: because the president of the FIA says he is ready today to obtain the entry of a 12th team. Which risks putting the FOM and the other teams off their hinges, after an already difficult pill to swallow when it comes to Cadillac!
Remember that any entry of a new team reduces the share of the revenue pie to be shared. This is how the 10 teams slowed down the arrival of Cadillac as much as possible, before American justice got involved…
However, Formula 1 has always provided for a maximum of 12 teams in its regulations, and this is a limit that Mohammed Ben Sulayem intends to reach.
” Why not ? » Ben Sulayem told Reuters at the Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday, when asked if he would like to see 24 teams on the grid.
“It’s about doing things right. So why do we have an option for 'yes to 12 teams', if we have to say no, no, no? »
“For me it is very clear: it is a victory for everyone with the 11th team. »
For Mohammed Ben Sulayem, F1 could no longer say no to the quality of such a project.
“Stefano Domenicali said: 'We need a manufacturer, not just an additional team. »
“So they (the proponents of the project) disappeared for a few months and they came back with a builder. »
“And they came back with a powertrain. They checked that box. And we couldn't say no to them anymore. »
Mohammed Ben Sulayem is still paying the FOM…
Never shy of criticism towards the FOM, now also friends towards the other teams, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, increasingly isolated, took the opportunity to attack those who had opposed the arrival of an 11th team, it is That is, almost everyone.
“I have been sent to hell!” »
But he was rescued from hell in particular by the American justice system which was investigating an anti-competitive clause.
Did Mohammed Ben Sulayem therefore throw all the F1 files to American justice, to win his case?
“I had a meeting with them and was questioned. I have nothing to hide. I'm an elected president, you know… based on governance, democracy and transparency. So we did what the FIA had to do. And I'm proud of what the team accomplished,” he declared.
Who to lead the project for a 12th team?
It remains to be seen who could now embody this 12th team project.
As a reminder, Andretti was not the only team to apply in recent years.
Rejected applications included New Zealand-based Rodin Cars, which had pledged to reserve a seat for a female driver, and the Hitech team backed by Kazakh billionaire businessman Vladimir Kim.
However, the former boss of Hitech, Oliver Oakes, is now the director of the Alpine F1 team owned by Renault. But we say that Hitech could also buy… the current Alpine team.
Another possibility would be to see Toyota make its comeback in F1, but it would perhaps be by buying Haas F1… whatever happens, we are still very far from that!
