Vasseur: American driver more important for F1 than American team

Ferrari Team Principal Frederic Vasseur has stated that Americandrivers are more important for Formula 1 than an American team.Michael Andretti, who is attempting to join the grid with his ownteam, passed the FIA's initial analysis before entering discussionswith the sport's commercial rights holders. F1 and its teams havebeen hesitant to open their arms to an 11th team amid fears overhow it could dilute the end-of-year payouts. The sport has operatedwith 10 squads since the 2017 campaign, with Haas being the grid'snewest addition. Haas is currently the only squad that runs under aUS flag, while this year Logan Sargeant became the first USnational to race in F1 since Alexander Rossi in 2015. F1 has beendeveloping its growth in the US market in recent years and stagedthree races in the country in 2023, visiting Miami, Austin and LasVegas. However, doubts over Andretti's entry remain despite itforming a partnership with General Motors, one of the biggestautomotive brands in the world. When asked by select mediaincluding RacingNews365 if there's enough room in F1 for an 11thteam, Vasseur said: “On paper you always have room except that youare not able to go to Monaco or to Zandvoort, that’s another story.“But for sure there is room for an 11th team if the team isbringing something to F1.” Vasseur pointed out that a driver hasmore influence on a country's interest in F1 than a team does. “Wespoke about the coverage from the country of the team but for me,it’s not the right approach. “The approach is that F1 is a successin the country where the drivers are successful. “If you have alook today, one of the biggest successes for F1 is for theNetherlands because they have Verstappen. “It's more a matter ofdrivers than the team and the nationality of the team. You haveHaas, an American team. “If you are speaking about Andretti, theywill join with exactly the same system as Haas. “If we want to bevery successful in the USA, I think it's more a matter to bringsuccessful American drivers than an American team”