Ben Sulayem: 'No reason' not to expand F1 grid to 12 teams

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has responded once again to those in Formula 1 who are oppose Andretti-Cadillac's plans to join the field, insisting there' is "no reason" not to expand the grid to 12 teams in the future.

Andretti's joint venture with General Motors which aims to bring the Cadillac name to F1 was well received by the FIA last week, with Ben Sulayem calling the involvement and interest of the biggest automobile manufacturer in the United States "particularly pleasing".

However, Formula 1's reaction to the news was extraordinarily muted, its statement openly ignoring the Andretti and Cadillac names to focus on the processes that must be followed, suggesting that the prospective entry still needs to prove its credibility.

Ben Sulayem later issued a tweet in which he called out – without specifically naming it – F1's "adverse reaction" to the Andretti-Cadillac announcement.

In Saudi Arabia on Monday, during his visit to the Dakar rally-raid, Ben Sulayem addressed the burning topic of expanding F1's field of competitors.

"In general, if we look at the sustainability of Formula 1, we have to open it up to other brands. We can have up to 12 teams on the grid," commented the FIA president.

"An OEM – manufacturer – will help make Formula 1 better and I see no reason for which we should not welcome new teams, especially the Americans.

"We have three races there already this year. We welcome any proposal to be one of the 12 teams. We accept good teams, even if they are small, as is the case with Haas.

"We hope that things will change and we will be able to have a proper eleventh team, we’ll see what happens."

• Read also: FIA president surprised by 'adverse reaction' to Andretti-Cadillac news

Andretti's efforts in the past year to join the field as an independent team were met with a lot of resistance from Formula 1 which is reluctant to expand its field in order not to dilute the teams' current prize money fund.

However, Andretti's tie-up with General Motors is perceived as a major boost to the US outfit's project which can no longer be disdainfully brushed aside by F1's incumbents.

But according to a report from Reuters, it was told by a senior figure in Formula 1 that there is a "strong majority" of teams that are against adding an 11th outfit to the field.

As for General Motors and the Cadillac name, the report claims the latter are just part of a "badging exercise" rather than representative of a genuine manufacturer commitment to F1.

Ben Sulayem has made clear that the FIA's open-minded approach to new teams joining the grid isn't a de facto 'yes' to Andretti's entry, as a process still needs to be followed.

"We are allowed to have 13 teams and to have a big company like GM - one of the top five [road car manufacturers] in the world, we should be encouraging them to come to Formula 1.

"That's the way I would like to see the future with an OEM and sustainability.

"On the other side, then you have the Andretti team, but there is the due diligence [to be done] and a process [to be followed]. We will wait.

"As the FIA or the president, I didn't say yes. We opened [the process], to let them see, but are they going to succeed? Will they tick the boxes? Will they be able to be [in F1]?

"We just can't rely on what's been going on [before]."

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