{"id":85351,"date":"2025-05-08T19:02:08","date_gmt":"2025-05-08T19:02:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/85351\/"},"modified":"2025-05-08T19:02:08","modified_gmt":"2025-05-08T19:02:08","slug":"12th-team-update-given-with-best-application-in-the-works","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/85351\/","title":{"rendered":"12th team update given with \u2018best application\u2019 in the works"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former Formula 1 team boss Otmar Szafnauer thinks Formula 1 needs a 12th team \u2014 and he wants to be the man to lead the charge.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cadillac has proven that F1 would be pleased to sign additional teams if the value proposition is there, and Szafnauer believes he has what it takes.<\/p>\n

Otmar Szafnauer sees \u201croom for a 12th team\u201d in Formula 1<\/p>\n

For years, Formula 1 has operated with no more than 10 teams, but when the FIA opened up an expression of interest for prospective teams in 2023, there was no shortage of interested parties.<\/p>\n

Only one team made the cut, and only after plenty of finagling on the part of Formula One Management and the team itself. That team, Cadillac, will enter the sport in 2026, with the goal of building its very own power units by 2029.<\/p>\n

The decision to open the doors to that particular outfit has already proven the value of expanding the grid \u2014 and former Alpine team boss Otmar Szafnauer thinks there\u2019s even more room to grow.<\/p>\n

Understanding Cadillac F1:<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc49\u00a0Cadillac F1: Everything you need to know about the new 11th team<\/a><\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc49\u00a0Cadillac F1: Who are the key personnel at America\u2019s latest Formula 1 team?<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIn my 28 years, there was a time where we had 12 teams in F1,\u201d Szafnauer said during Miami Grand Prix: Fuelling the City\u2019s Global Spotlight, an event in Miami co-hosted by Axios and The Race.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd prior to me joining \u2013 I signed my contract [with BAR] in \u201897 and joined in \u201998 \u2013 there were even more, when they used to have pre-qualifying.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I think there\u2019s room for a 12th team. And if a 12th team does happen, I want to be prepared, in order to be the successful bidder for the 12th team. So that\u2019s what I\u2019ve been working on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Szafnauer argues that there\u2019s \u201cdefinitely enough space for 12 teams,\u201d with 24 cars on track being better than 22 and additional talented drivers being afforded seats in the top level of international motorsport.<\/p>\n

\u201cCadillac was given the 11th spot,\u201d he said. \u201cI believe there were five bidders or five applicants for that spot, and one was chosen by the FIA, which was Cadillac, and eventually by F1, or Liberty.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I would imagine when they open up the bidding process for that 12th team, there will be more than one applicant. So I want to be in a position to make sure that my application will be the best amongst those that will apply.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though the era of team owners serving as team principals is long behind us, Szafnauer noted that the bosses who are able to marry their business savvy with an engineering focus are those who have found the best success.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you can do both, and Toto can, I think you gain efficiencies,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t have to rely on somebody else. You lead the team yourself in both the commercial aspect as well as the technology aspect, and both are important these days.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo yeah, you definitely gain efficiencies, and if you\u2019re owner\/manager, you have a bit of skin in the game. Although there\u2019s huge passion in F1, there\u2019s just a little bit more.\u201d<\/p>\n

But will we see a 12th F1 team any time in the near future?<\/p>\n

Considering how long it took Cadillac to find the right strategy to make it to the big leagues, it is hard to imagine F1 and the FIA being quick to approve a 12th outfit \u2014 but that hasn\u2019t stopped Szafnauer from feeling confident in his own approach.<\/p>\n

Read next:\u00a0How Cadillac aims to finally embody the \u2018American dream\u2019 in F1<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former Formula 1 team boss Otmar Szafnauer thinks Formula 1 needs a 12th team \u2014 and he wants…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":85352,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4103],"tags":[4199,707,4200,225,12,41109,79,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-85351","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-f1","8":"tag-f1","9":"tag-formula-1","10":"tag-formula1","11":"tag-home-page","12":"tag-news","13":"tag-otmar-szafnauer","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114473765837115418","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85351"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85351\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85352"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}