F1 doesn’t need new teams like Andretti

Andretti has made clear his frustration at the apparent slow progress regarding his attempt to join the series with a brand new team, having failed in his efforts to buy the Sauber organisation.

Domenicali suggested that he’s happy with the current figure of 10 entrants and that a newcomer isn’t required to add value to the sport. He also stressed that, along with Andretti, other parties have indicated an interest in entering, but have thus far kept a lower profile.

An entry evaluation process is ongoing, but there have been no details released of how it is progressing or the timeline for any decision, which ultimately will be made by the FIA under its president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

“I think today in the actual status of F1, it’s not a problem of quantity, where we can see a step of increasing the value of F1,” Domenicali replied when asked by Motorsport.com about the status of Andretti’s entry bid.

“It is a matter of understanding really, not only the ones that have a bigger or louder voice, but there will be other people, because Andretti was quite vocal about his request. There are others that have done the same, in a different way.

“So the evaluation is not only with Andretti, the evaluation is with others that are respecting the silence on trying to be more productive on proving who they are, and respecting the protocol we have put in place.

“As I always said I don’t believe that it is today the problem of having more teams that will give more value to the championship.

“But there is a protocol that has to be fulfilled. And everyone, Andretti included, is following that. So this is the situation today. I don’t see any changes. And I don’t want to say yes or no.”

When asked in Hungary about Andretti’s plans Mercedes boss Toto Wolff suggested that he’d be more supportive if a new manufacturer planned to enter a works team, saying that it would add more to the sport than the Andretti name.

Subsequently, Michael Andretti’s father Mario suggested on social media that Wolff had too much influence in the sport. When asked about the elder Andretti’s comments, Domenicali defended Wolff.

“Well, I do believe that Toto has a position as team principal,” he said. “He’s a 30% shareholder of Mercedes, he has a reputation of winning eight [titles] in a row. So I mean his…