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RedBull team principal Chris Horner has opened up his thoughts on the possibility of the addition of new teams in the current Formula One grid. Horner talked about the ‘intrinsic value’ of the teams will dilute with the addition of new teams.
He said, "Well, obviously, you know naturally for the current signatories to the Concorde agreement, it makes total logical sense to say that the 10 teams or 10 franchises have an intrinsic value and you dilute that by increasing the number. You know, theoretically, it should be a Liberty [Media's] issue to address if they want new teams to come in.
“How does that affect the distribution of the prize fund?” - Horner
The Brit also addressed the question about the distribution of prize money among all the teams. “And to expand the number beyond 10, then fiscally, it was always going to come down to a question of how does that affect the distribution of the prize fund? So, money is ultimately going to be a significant factor,” he continued.
“Ultimately, I see a question really for, you know, for the promoter, that if they want more teams, they're obviously going to have to dilute their share of the fund, because it would be unfair to expect the other teams to pay for the additional new entrants to come in indirectly. So that's always going to be the conflict you have.”
“Better if Mario came back driving,” Horner
He then addressed the possible new owners of teams like Porsche and Audi as big-time manufacturers and individual brands like Mario Andretti’s Andretti Global. He said, “I think it's great that there's the interest from both OEMs and a brand and a team like Andretti, you know, it's a great name.”
"[It would be] better if Mario came back driving, but, you know, I think it's something that really Liberty, it's their business model that they need to work out for the future."
Currently, Horner’s RedBull is sitting second in the Constructors championship with 151 points from five races as they have three wins and five podiums. Similarly, their drivers have also been performing great as Max Verstappen is second in the Driver’s Championship with 85 points while Sergio Perez is third with 66 points.