Mercedes chief Toto Wolff believes that Formula 1 and the FIA are reviewing applications from new teams, and that the current 10 teams should have a say in whether these new entrants are accepted.
Toto Wolff suggests that the process for a new team to join Formula 1 should follow the model used in US major sports leagues, where the approval of existing teams is necessary.
The FIA has opened applications for new teams to join Formula 1 in 2025, 2026, or 2027, coinciding with the implementation of new engine regulations.
The majority of F1 teams, including Wolff, have raised concerns about a new team joining and the lack of involvement for teams in decision-making, as per the current Concorde Agreement.
“There is no mature sports league in the world, whether it’s a national football championship, or the Champions League, the NBA, the NFL, the NHL, where such situation is possible, where you say, ‘I’m setting up a team and I’m joining, thank you very much for making me part of the prize fund,'” Wolff said at the British Grand Prix.
“You have to give to qualify, you have to go through the ranks, you have to showcase the commitment to the championship that we’ve done over the many years.
“If everybody in the NFL agrees – the teams that own the franchise there, so it’s different to us – agrees to have another entry, to let another team in because of the right reasons, the right ownership, etc, then that team is being admitted into the championship. And the same with most of the professional leagues in the US. We are a franchise, and this is how I would look at it.”
The team principals in Formula 1, including Wolff, believe that any new entry into the sport must bring added value. However, meeting their criteria seems extremely challenging for a new and unestablished team.
Teams in Formula 1 are currently in a standoff due to their dissatisfaction with the financial terms of the new entry under the Concorde Agreement, which they feel does not reflect the growth of the sport since 2020.
“If (an entry bid) is creative, then we must look at it,” Wolff added. “So far, what we’ve seen hasn’t convinced the teams – but we haven’t seen the applications and submissions that were made to the FIA and to Stefano, and they will judge whether that is positive for Formula 1 or not.
“But in any case, from a team’s owner side, there no leagues which just increased the entries, because that just dilutes the whole league. I think if it’s accretive then obviously not.”
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