McLaren boss Zak Brown revealed that Andretti's entry into Formula One is still meeting a lot of resistance from other teams, and believes that Colton Herta has what it takes to drive in the top category of world motorsport
Andretti was very close to entering Formula One at the end of the 2021 season. The team had an agreement to take over Alfa Romeo this year, but disagreements on the final details ended the deal. Even so, Michael Andretti's team is still interested in entering the category in 2024, and has received support from other teams, such as McLaren and Alpine.
On the other hand, some Formula One teams are reluctant to have an 11th team in the category because of the revenue split. Zak Brown, one of Andretti's biggest supporters, commented on the American team's situation, and hopes that the project will live on: "I hope it's not dead. I don't think it is. But it's certainly meeting a lot of resistance," he said in an interview with the Sports Business Journal website.
The biggest problem has in fact been the financial issue. In the Pact of Concord signed by all ten current teams in the category in 2020, it was decided that new teams would need to pay an entry fee of US$200 million to cover revenue sharing. While defending Andretti's entry, Brown agrees that the amount is low considering the growth of Formula One in recent years.
"I don't want to comment on what I think is the right value, but what I would say is that the value of a team in Formula 1 has increased very quickly since the Concordia Pact was signed. At the end of the day, it is Formula One's responsibility to decide what the right value is, but the value of a team is significantly higher than it was three years ago," the American manager analyzed.
Zak has a close connection with Andretti, with whom he competes in Indy. Colton Herta, Michael Andretti's driver, signed a development and test driver contract with the British team this year, and is expected to test the Formula 1 car. Brown sees great potential in the young American and believes he should make it to the main category of world motorsport.
"He definitely has potential. If you look at his results in Indy, he is extremely fast. He was Lando's teammate in Europe years ago, and Lando praises him a lot, so he has great chances and is capable of being a Formula One driver. That's why we're testing him, and one day, if the stars align, with a vacancy and Colton available, and he proves to us that he's capable, which we believe, I can see him in F1, either at McLaren or another team," Brown praised.
"That would add to the great exposure that Formula One already has in the United States. We still have Las Vegas, we race in Miami for the first time, so we are still at the beginning of rapid growth," concluded the McLaren boss.