Unlike their team bosses, the two most successful drivers in Formula 1 are in favor of expanding the grid.
Andretti Global's Formula 1 bid has successfully passed through the FIA's selection process, but a bigger hurdle awaits. The IndyCar, Formula E, IMSA, and Extreme E team's offer to join the grid is vocally opposed by most team principals who have been asked, including both Red Bull's Christian Horner and Mercedes AMG F1's Toto Wolff.
Their most notable drivers, by contrast, are much more open to the idea. Lewis Hamilton openly favors expansion, according to conversations during Qatar Grand Prix preparations on Thursday, Reuters reports. He notes that he had 'always felt there wasn't enough cars on the grid... It’s an opportunity for more jobs, it’s another two seats available for a female driver to come through.' He adds that 'it opens up more possibilities, and it would be more exciting for the race.'In his own comments on Thursday, Verstappen mentions the strength of the bid's partners, most notably Cadillac, Racer reports. He notes that 'everything seen so far, plus...the partners they have and the name, they have shown they are a professional team. It would be nice, because it gives more opportunities for the drivers’ side.' On the other hand, he says that he 'can understand from the team's side, they don't want it.'While no driver polled ahead of the weekend's Qatar Grand Prix is in direct opposition yet, a few have remained skeptical and avoided giving an answer. Sky Sports reports George Russell is 'not for or against it,' suggesting that quality is the key to whether or not expanding the grid is valuable to the sport. Fernando Alonso, who raced for Andretti Autosport in the Indianapolis 500 once, notes that 'other people are in charge of these kinds of decisions and says he 'will be okay with anything.'As Verstappen hints, teams and drivers have very different financial incentives here. While both face new on-track competition from Andretti, drivers will benefit from two new opportunities to make the F1 grid in a given season and the potential for one or two more seats that could contend for race wins. Teams, however, will only have new competition for revenue from television deals.RACER reports that any final decision on whether or not Formula One Management will accept Andretti Global is expected in the offseason.
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