Hamilton: “Some people won’t be happy with this…”

One of the news of the week in F1 was the announcement by the FIA ​​of the approval of Andretti’s candidacy to become the 11th team on the grid and the entry of said candidacy into the second part of the process. The teams, after a statement from the American structure published a few months ago in which Michael Andretti showed his willingness to be in F1 with Cadillac, are against this option.

The reasons for the current grid ranges are obvious. Many doubted the ability of a completely new team with no F1 experience to perform at the highest level from the start and compete with the best. But in reality, another underlying issue weighs more: the 10 teams want to maintain their current share of the ‘pie’ in terms of the benefits to be shared in an ever-growing business like F1. They then demanded that the fee to enter the category be increased from the 200 million mark, to 600.

Now, after the news given by the FIA, the issue is once again focused on the run at the Qatar F1 GP, a historic weekend as Verstappen can win his third consecutive F1 World Championship in Saturday’s sprint race. Andretti’s will stole the spotlight from Max, and there, Lewis Hamilton was surprised by his remarks. If the teams are against it, and for example Lawrence Stroll made it clear that there are no reasons to hold something that already works in 10 teams, Lewis Hamilton showed himself in favor of the arrival of a structure like an American, which currently competes in IndyCar and electric competitions such as Formula E and Extreme E.

“I always felt like there weren’t enough cars on the grid. So, although there will definitely be people who will not be happy that I support it so much, I think it’s great.”commented on the possible arrival of Andretti in F1.

“It’s an opportunity for more jobs, two more seats available for a potential female driver to go to F1… It opens up more possibilities and I think it will be exciting for in the race,” Hamilton added, though his words may conflict with Mercedes’ interests in F1.

Verstappen agrees

But perhaps the most remarkable news is that, for once, Hamilton and Verstappen agree on an opinion. The Dutch driver, in the run-up to the Qatar GP, also welcomed a possible new Andretti team in F1.

“From everything I have seen so far, apart from their partners and their name, they have shown that they are a professional team. I think it will be good because it offers more opportunities for the drivers side. But I understand that teams don’t like them. It’s complicated,” commented the Dutchman.

Russell: “We need to put quality before quantity”

For their part, the pilots want Russellexpressed their doubts about how prepared a team would be coming into F1 without being part of a structure that was already there: “Formula 1 is the best and we want to see quality competition. I am not for or against, but if there is another team it should be a quality team, one that can contribute to the sport. We like to see competition and teams going against each other. “F1 will come to the best conclusion and respond, but we have to put quality over quantity,” Russell said.