05/10/2023
NEWS STORY
Days after the FIA announced that it had given the green light to Andretti's bid to enter F1, Aston Martin owner Lawrence Stroll becomes the first to speak out against the move.
While Andretti may have the blessing of the sport's governing body, the approval of the sports owners and the majority of the teams that contest it is another matter entirely.
While the row over money has dominated the headlines, just about every other excuse has been used thus far including safety, logistics and not being in the sport's DNA, even though this is how many of the current teams entered in the first place... some when there were a lot more than ten teams.
Ahead of this weekend's Qatar Grand Prix, where the Andretti bid is likely to be one of the main topics of conversation, Aston Martin owner, Lawrence has become the first to publicly criticise the move.
"I think F1, at the moment, the business is on fire, the sport has never been in a better place," he told Sky Sports, "and I believe if it isn't broken, you don't need to fix it.
"I'm a strong believer that it's working really well with ten teams right now, and believe that's the way it should stay," he added.
"There's never been more fans, spectators at races," he continued, "the audience is the highest it's ever been, I continue to see substantial growth, particularly in the United States, which is the largest consumer market in the world.
"As you know, we now have three races in the States, we're in our second year in Miami, we're going to Las Vegas in November. So, I see tremendous growth possibilities going forward."
Andretti's application will now be passed to Formula One Management where it will undergo a lengthy process which will mainly involve the financial aspects of an eleventh team.
Thus far, the sport's stakeholders have been silent on the FIA's announcement other than a somewhat brief statement.
"We note the FIA's conclusions in relation to the first and second phases of their process and will now conduct our own assessment of the merits of the remaining application," it read.
Indeed, the FIA's announcement wasn't even deemed worthy of a mention on the sport's official website.