Szafnauer involved in development stage American F1 project

Another American F1 team project in addition to Andretti Global is allegedly in its early stages of development according to former Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer.

Andretti plans for a 2026 F1 team have been stalled for months, following Liberty Media’s rejection of its application, even though the FIA had given its approval in October last year.

Undeterred by the setback, Andretti has pressed on with its preparations, establishing a base at Silverstone Park in the UK and actively recruiting F1 staff, including former chief technical officer Pat Symonds.

The American outfit continues to engage in discussions with Formula One Management to persuade them to reconsider their decision.

Additionally, the team has lobbied in Washington, DC, where a group of US Congress members has demanded answers from F1 regarding its refusal, hinting at potential antitrust violations if Andretti's bid was unfairly rejected.

“On all fronts, everything is progressing,” F1 legend Mario Andretti recently told PlanetF1.com.

“I am beginning to feel optimistic because we’re doing a lot of diligent work. We’ll just have to come to some conclusion, hopefully soon, but everything is put in front of us and we’re putting in front of whatever is potentially required.

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“We’re working feverishly towards satisfying every aspect of it. From there we just keep our fingers crossed.

“We’re working at pace in every aspect that we can to be able to advance the cause because, all along, we’d like to show how serious we are about the project and not just talk but do.”

However, Andretti may have a competitor to contend with in the form of a US-based team backed by Szafnauer.

The experienced team principal, who was abruptly dismissed a year ago by Alpine during the 2023 Belgian Grand Prix, has confirmed he is working on a project with the necessary financial backing to enter Formula 1.

Speaking during the James Allen on F1 podcast, Szafnauer said: “I’m a competitor and the one thing that I like more than anything is the competition.

“So, to come back in a role where I can’t influence how well the team is competing, I don’t think I’d be interested.

“If it was a role where I could help develop, build, attract the right people to improve a team’s competitiveness, I’d be interested.

“But you know, there’s only 10 teams. A lot of them have people in those roles already. So, I don’t know how many opportunities there are out there, but there’s also the 11th and 12th team possibility. So that might be something that would be interesting for me.”

While acknowledging the limited number of F1 teams, Szafnauer expressed interest in the potential opportunities to become an eleventh or perhaps twelfth entrant in F1.

“I’ve been working with some organisations in North America that have the funding to start an 11th team,” he added.

“It’s not Andretti. Now we’re just putting some of those building blocks in place to make sure that we have everything that’s required in order to be successful to both start a team, but also get an entry.

“So, you know, that’s interesting too.”

As an industry veteran with a wealth of experience and a dense network, Szafnauer’s involvement would undoubtedly be invaluable in attracting talent and securing the necessary resources to enter Formula 1.

As the battle for the eleventh spot intensifies, the prospect of two American teams vying for a place on the grid adds an exciting new dimension to the sport.

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