09/10/2023
NEWS STORY
Not for the first time, FIA president Mohammed ben Sulayem appears to set himself on a collision course with F1 bosses as he talks of his dream of more teams and less races.
Already at loggerheads with F1 over his move to invite new teams to enter the sport, and particularly his support for Andretti, Ben Sulayem further antagonised them when he questioned the sport's $20bn valuation earlier this year.
Indeed, F1's general counsel, Sacha Woodward Hill, and Renee Wilm, the chief legal and administrative officer of Liberty Media subsequently wrote to the sport's governing body accusing it of overstepping the bounds of its remit and contractual rights, at which point Ben Sulayem launched the application process for prospective teams.
Having now rubber stamped Andretti's bid, which has not gone down well with the majority of the teams, the FIA president has appeared to set himself at loggerheads with F1 bosses with his call for less races and more teams, this at a time the sport is seeking to expand the calendar.
"Saying no to a team which has been approved by the FIA, it's very hard to say no," he told Reuters in reference to the Andretti bid.
"You can call me optimistic, I'm always optimistic. I think yes," he replied when asked if he think Andretti's bid will prove successful."
While F1 begins the process whereby a decision will be made about the new team, Ben Sulayem claims that since last week's announcement Liberty Media's share price has risen.
"The FIA should be asking, begging, OEMs to come in," he said. "We should not just say no to them.
"If you say what is my dream, it is to fill up the 12 slots and to have one US team from an OEM and a PU and a driver from there driving," he added, which pretty much aligns with the Andretti-Cadillac bid. "And then go to China maybe and ask for the same thing and do it."
Referring to the claim that Andretti should buy an existing team, he said: "You cannot force Andretti/GM to buy another team just because they want to sell.
"I won't mention names but they were after me to go on and convince GM to do that," he added. "It's not my job. I was not elected to do that. I am not a broker.
"We are allowed to have twelve teams. Some of the teams said 'Oh, it will be crowded'. Really? We are already running a Hollywood team with us," he said, referring to the Brad Pitt movie currently being filmed at certain events.
"The circuits are supposed to have enough garages and space for twelve teams," he added. "I think the number of races is too much rather than the number of teams. We need more teams and fewer races.
"The teams are looking at the piece of cake. I understand their worries, but our worries are different."
In terms of the obvious difference of opinion with F1 he said: "We are not a service provider. We own the championship. We leased it, we are the landlord. So that has to be respected.
"My intention was never to embarrass or to put someone in a corner, Liberty or FOM. I am here for the spirit of the sport."
Asked about the suggestion that Andretti could still enter F1 without a commercial agreement, he admitted: "We hope not. But it could happen. It can happen."