F1: Andretti vs. Hong Kong billionaire for 11th F1 team (4th Update)
More on Hong Kong Billionaire Calvin Lo and his desire to be in F1 by investing in an existing team.
“If whoever comes in plays their cards right, there are lots of opportunities,” Lo told City A.M.
“Once you want to come in, the hurdle to entry is high. There’s no ifs and buts.”
“We’re talking big numbers [to get involved],” added insurance tycoon Lo, whose wealth is estimated by Forbes to be $1.7bn. “I see the financials as a huge opportunity and that’s where my role will be.
“There are some current teams, the usual suspects [Williams, who this week replaced their chief executive this week, is thought to be one of those, although Lo wouldn’t confirm], that are faced some financial difficulties in the last season or two and their representatives or intermediaries have approached me.
“There are two [teams] I think need some sort of financial injection and a concerted action needed to continue racing.
“I just glance over the numbers, it [their predicament] is pretty serious.
“My team is crunching the numbers as we speak because if we are going to go down the path of putting a car on the grid in 2026, it has to be done yesterday.”
“It is important to convince the rest [of the F1 community] that the pie could be bigger,” Lo said when asked about what the opportunity to be in Formula 1 offers.
“There’s someone coming in [Lo] to look into the numbers, which is not the usual way of F1 doing things, which may widen that pie for everyone.
“I would hope [to make the pie bigger]. F1 is more accessible now through the internet and social media.
“I see a glimpse of the backstory behind a two-hour race. It’s interesting to me.”
But whether Lo enters Formula 1 through one of the smaller teams with a takeover or comes in like Andretti intends to with a new team, what about the pull of investing in one of the big three racing teams?
“Any team on the grid is incredible and I don’t care whether you’re No1 or the last,” Lo added.
“I think it’s fair to say that the last 10-20 years the top teams like Mercedes and Red Bull, these are what people are aiming to achieve.
“Especially a team like Red Bull who are not a car manufacturer, just a bunch of people assembling a car. What they’ve achieved is pretty incredible.
“[A big team would be] hard to turn down but [they’re] also very hard to come by.”
December 11, 2022
After making a big media push earlier this year when it first applied to the FIA for entry into F1, the Andretti Global effort to enter F1 is being kept low-key as of late.
When the Andretti’s first reached out to the other existing 10 teams there was much push back in the media because the 10 teams see an 11th team as a dilution of their prize money.
However, the teams do not decide. The FIA approves the application, not the teams.
Michael Andretti hopes that the FIA will approve Andretti Global as 11th F1 team in the next couple of weeks.
Speaking at the ground-breaking of his team’s new facility last week, Andretti thanked Mark Walter, CEO of Guggenheim Partners, an investment firm that currently has more than $300 billion of assets under management.
It seems that Guggenheim Partners is now part of the Andretti Global effort whereas previously it was believed Dan Towriss, CEO of Group 101 was the big money behind the effort. However, Andretti until last week had “declined to publicly acknowledge the link.”
“We’re hoping in the next couple weeks. That would sure be a nice Christmas present,” Andretti said.
Dan Towriss, CEO of Group 1001 which owns Gainbridge, a major sponsor of Andretti Autosport, shed further light on the situation.
“We’re confident in the plans and what this means for our future,” Towriss said.
“These plans run much deeper than a facility, and those are the plans we want them to see (but not the media).
“I think a lot of times, the quotes that get pulled out [about the resistance to the operation’s F1 entry] don’t really tell the full story.
“There’s a lot of conversations going on, and we’re not trying to get out in front of anything or use the media as a tool to influence anything.
“They [the FIA] have an expectation on approach and decorum that people should take in dealing with them and we respect that.”
December 4, 2022
Calvin Lo confirmed that talks have already taken place with intermediaries about investing in teams towards the lower scale of the F1 constructors’ standings. He already has close links with the Williams team, who are owned by American firm Dorliton, while Haas have struggled for financial backers ever since the team ended their partnership with Dmitry Mazepin’s pharmaceutical company Uralchem.
“There have been teams that approached me and my team of people. And that’s how it got started, some failing teams need some support and most of the discussions have taken place with intermediaries, to be honest,” he added. “There are lots of talks, quite a few. We know there’s only a few teams that are having issues but that’s how this all started.
“The question is do we invest into a team or possibly look into start our own team? You know that the whole F1 world is like a club, and I hope to find my way into that club.”
“I think any new team, in any form, be it a new brand or existing team that changes ownership, in general is good for the F1 ecosystem,” he said.
“I don’t care whether it’s a top team competing, or if they go into last, it brings a new dynamic to the whole F1 race. I really believe any driver, any team currently should appreciate a new team coming in because expanding that pie, making it bigger with new ideas, now is a good time.
“From my time watching Schumacher to now, there’s a new ‘Part 2’ generation and now the new breed of drivers is much younger, the communication is better with the whole audience on social media. It’s more accessible, even if it isn’t really… it feels more accessible for a fan.
“For example, drivers going on Zoom calls, speaking to fans, it was unheard of before. It’s a new era now and any new team that goes in will have to capitalize on this.”
He claims he is not “smart enough” to run a team, despite handling his life insurance empire in Hong Kong. His investment would be strictly financial. This of course begs the question why Michael Andretti isn’t on the phone to Lo and Porsche to form an 11th entry in F1. Between Lo’s money, and Andretti Global’s money (Actually insurance holding company Group1001 headed by Daniel Towriss).
Porsche probably prefers to get involved with an existing team, but there appear to be no takers at the moment.
Andretti probably prefers to have sole ownership of the team, but that won’t get him approved by the FIA – he needs a new F1 engine manufacturer and that is Porsche. Sure Hyundai have expressed interest in F1, but they have zero knowledge in designing and building F1 engines. Ditto for Ford. Both Ford and Hyundai would like to badge the Red Bull engine if Honda backs out.
Lo believes there are untapped markets for F1 to take a hold of which makes the idea of investing into the sport an attractive proposition.
He explained: “I think there are a lot of opportunities right now. We are entering a new era, a new viewership, fan base and in the US. It’s growing incredibly fast. Europe, that’s ongoing and in the Middle East/Asia, these markets are not tapped yet.
“There are two races in Asia if you could include Japan and China, but I think any participation if on my own or a few other investors, none of us are bright enough to go to the grid. But there are lots of opportunities, I believe in that.”
December 2, 2022
Michael Andretti said this week he hasn’t let up his efforts to ensure Andretti Global is an F1-ready outfit.
“Yeah we’re still moving forward,” Michael confirmed when asked about Andretti’s bid to join F1.
“We’re still working hard. I think we made pretty good progress in the last couple of months and we’re not giving up.”
Liberty Media president Greg Maffei indicated there’s a “potential we may increase the teams over time,” but will that be Andretti Global’s team, or one orchestrated by Hong Kong life insurance billionaire Calvin Lo as noted below.
Andretti is hoping to become the first entirely new entrant in F1, starting from scratch, since no one wants to sell him a team, probably because his bid price just isn’t high enough.
Andretti should combine his efforts with Lo, who admits he has no experience running a race team.
Their combined monetary resources could be what it takes to be that 11th team.
December 1, 2022
(GMM) British reports suggest new plans are afoot for an eleventh Formula 1 team.
With Michael Andretti’s well-known US-based operation openly seeking an official entry, a new suitor has now emerged – Hong Kong life insurance billionaire Calvin Lo.
The Mirror newspaper reports that he is in talks with “a number of teams and drivers”.
Lo reportedly said he is keen on Formula 1 because the sport has “entered a new era with growing popularity and a new generation of fans”.
Related Article: More billionaires eye F1
He also told the Daily Star newspaper: “I am not smart enough to run the team! Whatever involvement I would have, it would be financial.
“We’ve been looking at a current team and that’s how the idea of starting a new team came about,” Lo added. “There are a lot of opportunities right now.”
However, he acknowledged that the existing teams are reluctant to support the idea of an 11th entry because it means diluting their official F1 income.
“I understand the current teams’ reluctance. If it all comes out of the same pot, what’s the point?” said Lo, who is normally low-profile and believed to be 45-years-old.
“But if we could somehow expand that pie a little bigger, everyone could benefit, the whole grid could benefit.
He admitted that a new team wouldn’t be possible until 2026, but already has some ties with Williams.
“We have some ties,” the Canadian-born businessman confirmed. “In some ways we are involved, that’s the first step that got things going and learning about the details of the F1 world.”
