(Reuters) – Aston Martin executive chairman Lawrence Stroll has expressed his opposition to Formula One opening the door to U.S.-based Andretti and expanding to 11 teams from the current 10.
The governing FIA gave its approval on Monday to an application by Michael Andretti’s Andretti Formula Racing and passed it to the commercial rights holders for commercial discussions.
“I think F1, at the moment, the business is on fire, the sport has never been in a better place, and I believe if it isn’t broken, you don’t need to fix it,” Stroll, who owns the Aston Martin Formula One team, told Sky Sports television.
“So, I’m a strong believer that it’s working really well with 10 teams right now, and believe that’s the way it should stay.”
The current teams have been lukewarm towards expanding the grid, wary of diluting the overall pot of revenues, but have no direct say in the matter.
Some also feel the current $200-million entry fee, which would be shared among the existing 10 teams as compensation, is not enough given current valuations.
A deal announced last June for a 24% equity stake in Renault-owned Alpine valued the British-based team at around $900 million.
Andretti Global announced last January a partnership with General Motors’ Cadillac brand for a U.S.-owned team with at least one American driver.
The FIA started the formal application process in February, seeking to identify one or more new teams interested in joining in 2025, 2026 or 2027.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in Doha, editing by Toby Davis)
