Cadillac's livery for Barcelona testing, 2026

When the new Cadillac Formula 1 team attempts to qualify for its first grand prix in Melbourne, it will be exactly one year to the day since Formula One Management confirmed it had welcomed them into the 2026 championship.

But “welcomed” may be putting it too strongly. FOM resisted Cadillac’s entry into the championship for months after it was approved by the sport’s governing body, the FIA.

Now the series has finally, grudgingly, allowed an 11th team to participate. But the F1 field used to feature far more than just 22 cars, so does it need to go even further?

For

There’s no good reason not to have more teams. With more seats, F1 could involve drivers from a wider range of countries, attracting more fans.

More cars would also mean more opportunities for racing, overtaking and all the other points of interest in a grand prix.

Cadillac’s arrival has shown that many of the arguments offered against expanding the grid were hollow, such as the claim teams could not afford to sacrifice any more garage space. With new engine manufacturers arriving this year, there’s no good reason why Cadillac shouldn’t be the first of many new teams.

Against

A bigger grid means more teams sharing the prize money, and therefore less for each of them. This has been solved by requiring the newcomers to lodge an anti-dilution payment. Expanding the grid further would raise the same problem again.

It remains to be seen how competitive Cadillac will be. The F1 field has closed up significantly since the last new team, Haas, arrived 10 years ago. If they spend the season a second per lap behind the next-slowest car it will not inspire confidence that others could do better.

More is not necessarily better, either: as long as the competition at the sharp end is strong, does anyone care who comes 22nd?

I say

FOM owner Liberty Media boasts endlessly about how strong the sport is under their leadership. The valuations of the current teams have risen dramatically. It’s therefore hard to take at face value the claim F1 cannot afford to let more competitors in.

The regulations allow for a larger field. Therefore, if more teams want to participate, they should be allowed to.

It’s hard to imagine F1 returning to the days when 39 cars were entered and a third of the field was unable to join the 26-car grid. The costs of competing are simply too high to justify routinely sending teams home because they failed to qualify. Still, it would be good to see a return to a full, 26-car field and grid, which F1 hasn’t had for more than three decades.

You say

Does F1 need more than 11 teams? Cast your vote below and have your say in the comments.

Do you agree Formula 1 should have more than 11 teams?

  • No opinion (1%)
  • Strongly disagree (3%)
  • Slightly disagree (2%)
  • Neither agree nor disagree (4%)
  • Slightly agree (23%)
  • Strongly agree (68%)

Total Voters: 102

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