F1: American-hater Steiner does not want Andretti team in F1

Long-time American hater and Haas F1 team principal Guenther Steiner says Formula 1 is in a healthy position, and it does not need Michael Andretti’s team in the series.

Is all that Steiner wants from Americans is Gene Haas’ American money and any American sponsor that will write his a check.

“I wouldn’t say I’m opposed (to Andretti’s potential entry,  but of course he is), I think just in general in Formula 1 we have to always see what we have got at the moment,” Steiner told Autoweek. “We have 10 very solid teams now—very few times, if ever, it happened in Formula 1. So why would we need somebody more to come in, with all the promises and all the risks which comes with that, and if we have one more team there are more problems.

“At the moment there is no need for it, and if there is nothing actually valuable to Formula 1 (in adding another team) why would we share the pie with more people? And I think that is almost every team’s opinion about it, it’s FOM opinion about it, if there is no clear advantage to have an 11th team we are good with 10 teams. They are solid, why would we risk the 10 solid teams just to have 11? The sport’s in a good place.”

When it was put to Steiner that another team would mean more opportunities for drivers, engineers, mechanics and so on, he replied: “But you risk other teams and then it could be less again, because it is diluting everything.

“The 10 teams which are here are here a long time. We are the youngest and we’ve been here seven years. You don’t want to be diluted if there’s no upside to it.”