F1 protecting Andretti from itself with bid rejection, says ex-Haas boss Guenther Steiner

Former Haas boss Guenther Steiner says F1's decision to block Andretti's arrival before 2028 shows the sport is in such good health it can no longer afford to have non-competitive teams.

F1 on Wednesday rejected Andretti and Cadillac's joint bid to join the grid in 2025 or 2026, although it kept the door open for 2028 if General Motors follows through with plans to build its own engine.

Andretti had said he would be ready to race as early as 2025, probably with Renault engines, although that would be the year before a major overhaul of the regulations. But F1 questioned whether entry could be truly competitive in this way.

F1 cited him in its decision, adding that the willingness to participate next year gave “reason to question their understanding of the scale of the challenge involved.”

Steiner, who left Haas in early January, was speaking on ESPN's Unlapped podcast shortly after the decision was made public.

“I think they looked at it and thought it was too ambitious,” Steiner said.

He added: “I don't have all the information. Maybe they looked at it and they said we want them, but we want to make sure they're successful when they come, protect them from themselves.”

“I think F1 protects all the teams, everyone involved in the sport, they haven't completely closed the door. They said 28 is a new day, a new year, it's a few years away, it’s not tomorrow but the “The door is open. Show us you can prepare and be competitive between now and then and I think we'll welcome them.”

Steiner compared the move to how football has safeguards such as relegation to punish uncompetitive teams, something that does not exist in F1.

“There is no ideal number [of teams]. If you have 11 or 12 very competitive teams, that's not bad, but the commercial aspect also needs to be supported. To have more teams, you have to share the money with more people, which makes less for everyone. And then all of a sudden, even if you have 12 competitive teams, some won't have enough money and will fold. But then you have to keep those people there because they have the license, because you can't say you're not licensed.

“The problem with Formula 1 is that you don't get relegated… it's not like football. If in football you don't put in the effort and don't have the financial means, you get relegated and that's your destiny. But in Formula 1, once you're in, you have the right to stay… not forever, like nothing is forever, but for a long time. That’s the hardest part.”

Steiner's former team Haas remains the newest entrant to F1, having joined the grid in 2016. It has struggled to be competitive for much of that time – it has only finished once above eighth place and finished last in 2023.

F1 has changed since Haas's early days: teams are now bound by an annual budget cap, while there are rules around wind tunnel development, with champions getting the least time allocated the following year, and vice versa. versa.

With that in mind and with F1 still enjoying a boom in global popularity, Steiner said expectations of what a new team should bring have changed dramatically since Haas arrived.

“When we arrived, it was a completely different Formula 1 to what it is today. When we arrived in 2016, I think it was a time when there were a lot of people. [other] So we had a lot less pressure than any other team coming in now.

“We expect all teams to be competitive now, all teams to be stable now. When we arrived there was a need for [new] teams, so it was a completely different scenario. But it's a very difficult job to do and it hasn't gotten any easier, especially now that a budget cap is in place, so if someone wants to come in and be competitive by outspending everyone else first or the first two years, you can't do that. You cannot do more than others. The only thing you don't have is the experience that others have.

“So it's very, very difficult. I'm not saying it's not doable, but if you want to get in now you have to take your team, prepare yourself and make sure that when you get to Formula 1 you will be as competitive as possible. is now required by Formula 1.

“There is no weak team now, they are very competitive. You cannot fail. FOM [Formula One Management] would not allow anyone to fail. So you need to be 100% sure that you can prove that you won't fail. »