F1 News: Haas Chief Raises Alarm Bells Over Possible Grid Expansion
Guenther Steiner, the Haas team principal, has joined other team bosses in expressing reservations about the proposed addition of new teams to the Formula 1 circuit. With the FIA soon to announce successful applicants set to join F1 in 2025, there is increased chatter about potential newcomers like Andretti Cadillac and Hitech Grand Prix.
However, not everyone is optimistic about the expansion. Just a month ago, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff expressed safety apprehensions linked to an added eleventh team on the grid.
Steiner’s concerns, voiced ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, chiefly revolve around financial stability. He asserts:
“You have 10 very stable teams which are all technically stable, financially stable.
“If you put another team in and maybe somebody gets in jeopardy in three or four years time, maybe only eight or nine teams will be left.
“The business is run by FOM [Formula One Management] and they need to make sure that this is sustainable.
“At the moment we are at the peak. Formula 1 is growing and there is never an end to it. We could have 56 races in a year and 22 teams in a year, and [everyone] would be happy.
“I think we made big growths in the last year. [Now], it is very stable. We have ten very good teams and if you change something, you could go the other way.
“If you do too much and the teams aren’t stable anymore, what would you achieve then?
“You’ll be sitting here in three years saying you’ve lost a team because it went bankrupt.”
While acknowledging the growth of F1, Steiner also hints at deeper business intricacies. He mentions,
“So if all of a sudden it could be 12… F1 is a pretty old sport and there were never 10 good teams.
“There was a business plan from FOM to get us to this place. This didn’t happen by accident. There were deeds done, agreements and a lot of work was done.
“[With] their plan, they don’t want to risk it, what they are doing, by admitting more [teams] for no good reason.”
His comments, especially those alluding to “deeds, agreements, and plans,” have sparked further speculation about the reasons behind his stance against F1 expansion.
