Former team boss Otmar Szafnauer wants to return to Formula 1 and is also working with US investors on a possible new racing team
While Andretti continues to fight for entry into Formula 1 and has so far been met with rejection, another project is forming in the USA that is flirting with the premier class and would like to field an eleventh team. And at the forefront is an old acquaintance: former Force India and Alpine team boss Otmar Szafnauer
In the James Allen on F1 podcast, Szafnauer reveals that he would like to return to Formula 1 – and if that doesn’t happen in a responsible role at a current racing team, then there is the possibility of investors and a brand new racing team.
“I’m a competitor, and what I love more than anything is competing,” he says. “To come back in a role where I couldn’t influence how well the team performs, that wouldn’t be interesting for me.”
“But if it was a role where I could help develop, build and attract the right people to improve the competitiveness of a team, then I would be interested,” says Szafnauer.
But he also knows that these opportunities are few and far between in Formula 1: There are only ten teams and most of them already have these roles permanently filled. “So I don’t know how many opportunities there are out there, but there is also the possibility of an eleventh and twelfth team. That’s something that could be interesting for me.”
Szafnauer had confirmed talks with Andretti earlier in the year, who he would have liked to help in such a role. However, it is known that the Americans do not get a starting place in Formula 1, so Szafnauer could try another applicant instead
“I’ve been working with some organizations in North America that have the assets to start an eleventh team,” he says, stressing: “It’s not Andretti.”
“We’re laying some groundwork now to make sure we have everything we need to both successfully start a team and get a seat on the grid,” says the ex-team boss. “That is also interesting.”
Whether the new project would have a better chance of getting a starting place than Andretti, however, remains to be seen. Andretti has already been accepted by the FIA, but was flatly rejected by Formula 1, even though they are already building a car in their own factory and would also have had the support of a respected manufacturer in the form of Cadillac/General Motors.
The main problem is that the existing teams don’t want newcomers because they would then have to split the prize money further. Andretti would already have had to pay 200 million US dollars to the other teams if it had been successful.
It is expected that this contribution will increase even further in the next Concorde Agreement – if the field is not limited to ten teams. In that case, the new US project would only have the option of taking over one of the ten teams.
