By 
- On Saturday at Silverstone, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff added a new twist to the stay-out-of-our-sandbox argument in regards to F1 expansion.
- Some Formula 1 circuits are not equipped to handle two more cars.
- Wolf's answer to anyone who wants to get into Formula 1 is simple.
The narrative for why Formula 1 team bosses want the series to remain capped at 10 teams and 20 cars took a bit of a hard-to-take-seriously turn at Silverstone on Saturday.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, who has been very vocal about wanting to keep F1 at 10 teams, has voiced concerns about how adding an 11th team would dilute the championship prize fund. After all, slicing a pie into 10 pieces is better than slicing one into 11 pieces.
On Saturday, Wolff added a new twist to the stay-out-of-our-sandbox argument, saying that the tracks and even some of the garage facilities can't handle two more cars.
In the famous words of former tennis great John McEnroe, "You can't be serious."
"When you look at qualifying sessions, I mean already now we're looking like on a go-kart track, we’re tripping over each other," Wolff said. "There is a safety concern: We haven't got the logistics, where to put an 11th team. Here in Silverstone, we can accommodate the Hollywood people but on other circuits, we can’t."
By "Hollywood people," Wolff is referring to the car and crew for an upcoming F1 movie staring Brad Pitt that is filming this weekend at Silverstone. Track officials and the Hollywood folks have created a movie set garage at Silverstone to film some scenes.
Wolff's answer to anyone who wants to get into Formula 1 is simple. Buy an existing team. No need to bring on two more cars and another ownership group.
"Our position was very clear: buy a team," Wolff said. "But you know, there's a lot of consequences. People like Audi and the venture capital funds, have been buying into F1 teams for considerably higher valuations. And so all of that is a picture that the FIA and FOM have to access.
"And, as I said before, if a (new) team can contribute to the positive development of Formula 1, then… and in a way that the other teams have done, over the many years, have suffered over the many years… yeah, we have to look at it."
Audi, instead of starting its own team, is aligning with the current Alfa Romeo-branded Sauber team beginning in 2026.
"For once, I'm pretty aligned with Toto, that first you can’t compare the impact of the movie and the impact of a team," said Ferrari team principal Frederic Vassuer. "Have a look at what happened last week. It was already a mess in Spielberg on track, with the track limits. Imagine if you have 10% more infringements. But more seriously, we didn't change at all the position, that I think it could make sense for the F1 (to add an 11th team) only if it’s a huge push in every single direction."
Wolff went on to point out that no where else, in major sport, can a group just decide to join the top ranks of a sport. Adding a team should benefit both sides without question.
"There is no mature sports league in the world, whether it's a national (soccer) 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. "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."
So far, two groups—one led by American Michael Andretti and the other by current F2 outfit Hitech—have publicly expressed an intention to apply, or have applied, for membership in joining Formula 1. As many as two other groups are rumored to have also inquired about the possibility.
Wolff has yet to be overly impressed by any of the groups to the point that he's in support of welcoming them on board. A decision about the fate of the F1 hopefuls is expected to come down from the FIA sometime this month.
"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 (F1 chief executive) Stefano (Domenicali), and they will judge whether that is positive for Formula 1 or not," Wolff said. "But in any case, from a teams’ owner side, is there no leagues which just increased the entries, because that just dilutes the whole league. I think if it's accretive then obviously not."
