Formula 1 Racing

Christian Horner feels cost of new teams should be Liberty Media’s issue

Christian Horner microphone CNN. Miami May 2022

Red Bull principal Christian Horner does not see why the current teams should lose out financially if a new one joins.

The ongoing efforts of the Andretti family to make it onto the Formula 1 grid for 2024, as well as the confirmation of Porsche and Audi’s F1 involvement from 2026, has created quite the debate regarding potential financial dilution for the 10 teams currently on the grid.

Any new team that joins Formula 1 would need to pay a fee of $200 million, that shared across the teams as compensation since there would now be an extra slice of the financial pie to be handed out.

The likes of Mercedes boss Toto Wolff then remains cold on the idea of a new team joining the grid, saying no prospective entry has yet shown enough value to justify the other teams giving up a part of their revenue.

Horner though questioned why it is the teams that are expected to make this financial compromise. He thinks the owner of the series Liberty Media should take responsibility.

Speaking to reporters in a Miami press conference, Horner said: “Naturally for the current signatories to the Concorde Agreement, it makes total logical sense to say that the 10 teams or 10 franchises have an intrinsic value and you dilute that by increasing the number.

“You know, theoretically, it should be a Liberty issue to address if they want new teams to come in. And to expand the number beyond 10, then fiscally, it was always going to come down to a question of how does that affect the distribution of the prize fund? So, money is ultimately going to be a significant factor.

“Ultimately, I see a question really for the promoter, that if they want more teams, they’re obviously going to have to dilute their share of the fund, because it would be unfair to expect the other teams to pay for the additional new entrants to come in indirectly. So that’s always going to be the conflict you have.

“I think it’s great that there’s the interest from both OEMs and a brand and a team like…

Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at News – PlanetF1…