Doors opened – Possible new teams that could join F1 after FIA decision
The FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem recently revealed that he was talking to his team about the prospect of starting a process for new teams to join the F1 grid.
The F1 grid currently comprises of 10 teams and 20 drivers since the collapse of the Manor squad at the end of the 2016 season.
Since then, there are teams that have showed interest to join the F1 grid. Let’s have a look at some of the teams that could join the F1 grid.
READ MORE: FIA President starts process for prospective new teams to join F1 grid
Andretti Global F1
Andretti Global, headed up by Michael Andretti. Andretti announced plans earlier in 2022 to enter Formula 1 in 2024.
However, the American’s interest to join the F1 grid have been largely disregarded by F1 teams led by Mercedes Team Principal and CEO Toto Wolff, only McLaren and Alpine have publicly stated their support for Andretti’s plans.
Wolff and co may as well be uncomfortable to share the large prize pool, which is getting larger every now and then due to Formula 1’s success, thus an eleventh team could reduce each team’s slice.
With Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s declaration and Andretti’s willingness to pay the $200 million enrty fee, Andretti could start racing in 2024.
Preparations are reportedly underway for building a new factory in Indianapolis, where Andretti will make its own F1 cars.
Honda
The Japanese engine manufacturer returned to the championship in 2015 with McLaren, having been inspired by the new breed of power units that focused on hybrid and energy recovery technology.
Honda continued working together with Red Bull Racing and Scuderia AlphaTauri until the end of the 2021 season. Max Verstappen became the world champion in 2021 with a Honda engine.
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In 2022, Verstappen won another title and Red Bull also took the constructors’ championship. Verstappen drove cars with Honda-manufactured engine, but it was named Red Bull Powertrains.
Honda has already signed up as an engine supplier for 2026. But for which team? If it is Red Bull, Honda will have a more limited role than in the past, as Red Bull will build their own engines in-house.
Joining a small team will not be an option to ambitious Honda. Thus, the suitable option would be to come up with its own team.
Calvin Lo
Billionaire Calvin Lo is yet another person bidding to break up the established order in F1. Based in Hong Kong, Lo has experienced up close the rise of F1’s popularity in Asia and with the finances behind him, he believes now is the time to get involved.
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“I feel that right now, with 2026, with all the rule changes and updates, there are opportunities and lots of resources that are not fully used within the F1 ecosystem. So I think right now is a good opportunity to take advantage of it,” said Lo while speaking to PlanetF1.
The Hong Kong businessman has assets of $1.7 billion, according to Forbes.
Unlike Andretti who wants to join F1 for sporting reasons, Lo does so mainly for business reasons. With the growing popularity of the sport, the businessman sees F1 as a good investment.
