Lewis Hamilton was one of the first members of the paddock to reveal his controversial stance on the issue.
Lewis Hamilton has spoken out in favor of Andretti becoming Formula 1’s 11th team, which the FIA has allowed ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix’s return this weekend.
It was announced before this weekend that the governing body had approved Andretti’s application to join F1, with the final decision now made by the sport itself.
Andretti’s participation sparked negative reactions from the vast majority of practitioners, who did not want to see the sport expand beyond 10 teams.
Most are concerned that the prize fund will be divided 11 ways instead of 10, causing teams to fear their market value will decrease. Red Bull advisor Dr. Helmut Marko also recently expressed doubts about the possibility of installing an 11th garage at some tracks, where all available space has been used up.
Hamilton admitted that many people “will be unhappy” not only with his support of Andretti’s participation in the sport, but also with the US team’s participation in general.
He noted that it would create “more jobs” and give drivers who want to race in F1 a better opportunity to do so, as there would be two extra seats on the grid.
The seven-time world champion also pointed out that this will provide better opportunities for female drivers, believing that the sport in general just needs more cars on the track.
“I think in terms of Formula 1, I always think there’s not enough cars on the grid,” Hamilton said, as reported by Fox Sports. “There will definitely be people who won’t be happy because I support them so much, but I think it’s great.
Here’s an opportunity for more work, here’s two extra seats for a potential female driver.
“It opens up more possibilities and I think it will be more interesting.”
Max Verstappen is also more in favour of Andretti being accepted by F1 than rejected, with him believing that it’d be a positive “in terms of competition”.
However, he recognises that he’s not a team principal and that the decision is down to the sport and the FIA, who “know the situation best”
“It’s always very hard for me to comment on these kind of things because I’m not a team owner, I’m a racing driver,” Verstappen said.
Of course in terms of competition it would probably be a nice thing.
“That’s why it’s very hard to understand, from what I’ve seen and heard it looks very professional and they want to come in and of course with the Andretti name they are a big name.
“They already have achieved a lot in motorsport so I would definitely like to see them here but it’s not up to me to decide these kind of things.
“It’s the FIA, the teams, F1 altogether they have to make that call. They know the situation best and they will make the decisions.”
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