Q: Heard rumors of peacemakers within the F1 circle working toward getting Andretti Global into F1 without allowing an 11th team. This would be by brokering the sale of an existing team such as Alpine, Alpha Tauri or Williams to Andretti.
My question: When the teams line up for the start of the first race of the 2026 season, what is most likely?
a) Andretti Global is on the grid as an 11th team
b) Andretti Global is on the grid after obtaining control of an existing team
c) No soup for Andretti Global — they are on the outside looking in watching 10 other teams compete.
Ed Joras
CM: This is a great question because it’s so complex at the moment Ed, I can see it getting into legal matters. I think b) is the least likely to happen, because Andretti tried to go down that route and got so close with Sauber but it shows how nobody is selling, and even those suggesting they might are asking for huge money.
But all three are definite options. If you force me to make a call, the infuriating responses so far from in Qatar suggest I’d have to put c) before a).
Q: With four races in a row in the Americas (three on consecutive weekends), what are the logistics of team travel and supplies? I assume the entire teams don’t go back to their home bases, at least for the first three, but are personnel shuttling back and forth and parts being resupplied?
Tom Hinshaw, Santa Barbara, CA
CM: So, the cars themselves go straight between venues – Ollie Bearman was in Qatar with Haas because it was the only chance for him to do a seat fitting before his Mexico FP1 run! The car won’t go back to base for any proper amount of time, but will instead go straight on to Austin. So many components will also go straight from one race to another in the Americas.
Almost all personnel will go straight from one to the next, though some who can rotate (for example press officers and marketing personnel) will swap in and out and only work a selection of them. That also allows those team members changing over to either take components back to base with them or bring new ones out. You’d be surprised at the amount of equipment chaperoned in that way on commercial flights!
Q: Are F1 drivers not allowed to wear cool suits?
Ed Joras
CM: No they’re not, because they’re not FIA-homologated (for fire resistance etc), but also drivers wouldn’t fit in the seats in them, so tight are the cockpits and seat moulds due to the g-forces involved. They wear cool jackets right up to getting in the car and as soon as they get out at particularly hot venues.
Q: Josef Newgarden posted a question on Twitter about how the IndyCars compare to F1 cars in terms of cockpit temps and humidity. Many of the F1 drivers were complaining of the heat in Qatar, but there does not seem to be any statistics around how hot it was in the car, humidity levels and such.
I doubt race promoters take these things into consideration when scheduling races, but it is something that should be thought about.
Jim Doyle, Hoboken, NJ
CM: You’re already onto something Jim, as the FIA is looking into it after Qatar. Ways of monitoring cockpit temperatures and improving airflow are on the agenda, but also potentially blocking races taking place in certain locations at specific times of year.
Q: Maybe I missed something but wasn’t there some kind of legal action going on between Guenther Steiner and Gene Hass? Steiner believed he was to have some ownership in the team. Can you give any updates?
Bob Anderson, Arlington Heights, IL
CM: I’m assured this was a completely false story (I can’t print the word that was used to describe it) that originated from a publication that doesn’t get much attention in the F1 paddock due to the number of debatable articles it runs.
THE FINAL WORD
From Robin Miller’s Mailbag. 10 October, 2014
Q: Last week during the press conference for the Japanese GP, all the drivers were asked what the most powerful car they had driven by age 17. Sebastian Vettel mentioned that he tested a Champ Car at that age. This would put it around 2004 or ’05. I’ve never heard anything about this test, so do you have any information about where it was and who he was testing for?
Artem, Kitchener, ON
ROBIN MILLER: He was the Formula BMW champion and earned a test in Derrick Walker’s Champ Car at Homestead’s infield course. Here’s a quote from Walker: “He was bloody impressive, and I told somebody ‘That kid could be Formula 1 champ some day.’” Good call, D.W