Toto Wolff sends $1bn warning to Andretti over Formula 1 entry

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has said that Michael Andretti’s potential Formula 1 entry in the next couple of years could need around $1bn in terms of investment and resource for them to be competitive.

There are currently 10 teams in Formula 1 and that has been the case for several years now, with the likes of Marussia and HRT showing in the recent past how hard it is to enter the sport and actually be competitive.

Indeed, only Haas have arrived on the grid and managed to stay for a real sustained period of time and the hope has to be that with budget caps coming into play for all the teams, the door will be open to new outfits joining the fun at the pinnacle of motorsport.

Michael Andretti – son of former world champion Mario Andretti – has been linked with an entry in the next few years lately, then, but Wolff has warned him that it will take a fair bit of wedge – and then some – to really compete and challenge in the sport:

“Andretti is a [significant] name, for sure, and the American market is important.

“Every team that is joining needs to add value. It’s not only by paying a $200m entry fee but it needs to demonstrate in my opinion what it can do for all the other teams and for Formula 1 and the FIA. Only then the sport will grow.

“We are the absolute pinnacle, this is the Champions League or the NFL. And redistributing franchises on the go is not how it should be. It’s not the intention of F1 and the FIA either.

“But if a real brand with good people, necessary funding, not only the $200m but probably you need more around $1bn if you want to play in this club straight from the get-go – then why not?”