There could be a new team entering Formula 1 after a number of years. ‘Monaco F1 Racing Team’ is reportedly finalising its plans of entry into the sport.
Team owner Salvatore Gandolfo has expressed his delight at recent comments made by F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali stating that the $200million entry fee could be waived.
This was put into place last year to protect the franchise value of the existing teams. Another important reason it was introduced was to prevent potential false starts seen in the past such as USF1.
At the time, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff had said that such a fee would help F1 remain “special”.
Gandolfo’s team has been getting attention for a number of years now, given the fact that they have been optimistic about entering the sport. While initially their main points of contention were the budget cap and new regulations to come into play next year, the entry fee had added further complications.
In the light of Domenicali’s comments regarding waiving the fee, Gandolfo appears confident they will make an entry.
“The current Monaco F1 Racing Team project was the first to actively discuss the possibility of an entry with the F1 Governance, as early as 2019, and to set up a structure accordingly, realising the potential of the new technical regulation that was initially supposed to come into force in 2021 [and was subsequently delayed because of the pandemics].
“We believe that the recent statements of the new F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, which suggest that the $200m entry fee for new teams could be waived, represent a step forward in the right direction.
“We appreciate the open attitude of both Stefano and the FIA and are ready to take the necessary steps in order to have our application finalised,” Gandolfo said.
Talking specifically about the entry fee, Domenicali had given reasoning behind his statement.
“At the end of the day, if you look at that amount of money, it is really the value of a team being able to compete. That was the thinking behind that.
“So I would say, if something has to change, we have the time to do it. These are cases that need to be deliberated and discussed.”
The last team to enter Formula 1 was Haas in 2016.