Reluctance of F1 towards entry bid 'a mystery' - Andretti

Michael Andretti does not know why Formula 1 teams are reluctant to endorse his planned Grand Prix entry, labelling the opposition as a "mystery."

After evaluating prospective teams' entry bids, Andretti was the only candidate the FIA deemed worthy of moving onto Phase 3 of the process which is entering talks with the Commercial Rights Holder (CRH) over financial terms.

However, the CRH which is Formula 1 and the 10 existing teams have largely been lukewarm throughout the process with concerns about Andretti reducing the overall prize money available at the start should it be accepted.

Andretti is at the United States Grand Prix this weekend, revealing that the team has already constructed a car to 2023 specifications for wind-tunnel testing as he also explained what the team is hoping to bring to Grand Prix racing.

hat's It's a mystery to me in some ways. You know, why? Why they're pushing back. You know, they say we're slicing the pie. But I think the point is, hopefully we bring in more than what that that were taken away. And we really believe that I think you look at the fan support and on all the surveys that have been done and things that we think that we're going to add to it not take away. I want to get

"It's a mystery to me in some ways why they are pushing back," Andretti explained to Sky Sports F1.

"They say that we are slicing the pie, but I think the point is that hopefully we bring in more than what we take away.

"We really believe that if you look at the fan support and on all the surverys, we are going to add to [Formula 1's revenues] and not take away from it."

Part of the reluctance of F1 and especially the teams towards Andretti's bid is that should the team join the grid, the prize pot would be split 11 ways as opposed to the current 10, meaning a smaller share of earnings to begin with.

Teams now see themselves as 'franchises' having become financially stable as a result of the regulations, with Williams boss James Vowles particularly against the idea of any new teams.

When asked about Vowles' stance including that of there only being so many sponsors available to go around, Andretti rejected the idea.

"There's plenty to go around," he explained.

"If we can help improve the popularity of the US from where it is today, there's a lot of companies that are not in this series right now that have already contacted us and are quite interested once we get the approval to talk to us, so I disagree with that."