Brown hopes Andretti F1 prospects 'are not dead'

Zak Brown hopes that Andretti Global will enter F1 in the future, but the McLaren Racing boss admits that the US outfit's plan is "meeting a lot of resistance".

Renowned team owner Michael Andretti stated last month in Miami that his company's F1 endeavor is moving forward despite it still waiting on the FIA to green light its entry process and despite the lukewarm reaction to the American team's plans from several teams on the grid.

However, Brown - who partners with Andretti in the Walkinshaw Andretti United Australian Supercar team - has expressed their support for the US outfit's efforts to join the elite.

"I hope it’s not dead; I don’t think it’s dead," Brown told Sports Business Journal. "But it certainly seems like it’s meeting a lot of resistance."

Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali went on record last month in Monaco to say that protecting the sport's current strong financial health was its top priority, and that F1 does not need any new entrants.

The Italian's words equated to a clear rejection of Andretti's plans, but it is the FIA that will have the last word when it decides, or not, to process the US team's entry demand.

• Read also: Brown formally rules out McLaren team's sale to Audi

F1's steady growth has logically boosted the value of its ten franchises, an increase that has led to discussions on whether the sport's anti-dilution fee of $200 million that any new team must fork out should be increased.

But Brown insists its not up to the teams to set the level of F1's financial barrier to entry.

"I wouldn’t want to comment on what I think the right number is," he said.

"But what I would say is the value of an F1 franchise from when the Concorde Agreement was signed [in 2020] to now — it’s grown rapidly.

"Ultimately, it’s up to F1 to decide what the right number to buy in is, but whatever an F1 team was worth three years ago, it’s significantly more today."

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