Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has asked the FIA to add a third car and an “obligatory rookie driver” for each team on the F1 grid in order to encourage young drivers.
Wolff and Horner agree that more cars should be added to the starting grid, whereby the Mercedes team boss goes further than Horner’s opinion that “probably one or two teams are missing” in the starting grid to enable young drivers to enter Formula 1 to facilitate.
With currently only 20 seats available per season, Wolff could – if finances allow – add an additional car per team with compulsory young drivers in order to bring more talents into the top class of motorsport.
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“I think we have to make sure that talented young drivers have the opportunity to move up,” said Wolff, quoted by GPFans.
“What I always advocated was not just to have the mandatory FP1 sessions, but also to add a race or two where these young drivers or rookies have to race and actually be part of the constructors’ championship.
“Even more radical when it is financially manageable to have a third car with a compulsory rookie driver.
“Suddenly we have a starting field of 30 cars, and the smaller teams can finance these places with money from the drivers or sponsors. That could be very exciting.”
It is official. Next year I’ll be a Mercedes F1 driver. This is a special day for me and I would like to say a big thank you to @WilliamsRacing, @ MercedesAMGF1 and everyone who helped me get where I am today. Without each and every one of you, I would not have made it. ?? pic.twitter.com/MmGA1vr9mR
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While Horner believes there should be more entry spots for rookies to gain experience in Formula 1, he added that the budget cap in the sport would prove to be an obstacle to Wolff’s proposal.
That being said, however, he feels that the limited spending helps each team choose their own drivers rather than relying on paid drivers for income. Williams has confirmed that they no longer have to rely on drivers with budgets to come on the team, and the Red Bull team boss believes this will benefit the sport.
“There are a lot of young people in Formula 2 who deserve a chance and there are just not enough places at the moment,” said Horner.
“So you’re waiting for a Kimi [Raikkonen] back off to open a seat for a boy somewhere in the chain to come in.
“With the budget cap, as I understand it, pretty much every single team next year will be at this limit.
“This is a positive result, because there are drivers with large budgets who are not given seats because the teams can work independently on these upper limits.
“Of course you have the age-old problem that once you start splitting the pie among multiple members, it will be watered down and so there will be a reluctance, hence the third car theme.
“But ultimately we need two to four more cars in the starting field so that young talents have the opportunity to show their colors in Formula 1.”
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