Marko: Andretti should buy Alpine

The topic of an 11th or even 12th F1 team has been in the headlines for a while now, as the FIA are currently evaluating applications from several parties, the most high profile of those being Andretti Global's joint application with General Motors, or what has become known as Andretti-Cadillac.

FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem has been pushing for Andretti to join while other F1 teams have opposed it fearing a smaller share of the prize money, not to mention their insistence in light of the current success the sport is enjoying that the $200-Million anti-dilution fee (stipulated in the current Concorde agreement) is not enough anymore.

Some other opinions have pointed out that accommodating an extra team will have it's logistical challenges as some track on the F1 calendar won't have enough space for extra garages and paddock facilities.

Touching on the subject, Dr. Helmut Marko suggested Andretti should purchase Alpine, as the Renault-owned and powered French outfit currently going through tumultuous time with a major management reshuffle seeing Laurent Rossi (former CEO) Otmar Szafnauer (former Team Principal) and Alan Permane (long serving Sporting Director) all fired amid unsatisfactory on track performances.

It was also reported that while Andretti has joined forces with Cadillac, their potential F1 venture would be sourcing power units from Renault.

"Andretti should buy the Alpine team, Marko told Sport1. "That would be best for everyone. Formula 1 would keep its 10 teams, Andretti could finally get in, and Renault can still be involved."

Andretti has been involved in talks with Sauber to take over their F1 operations, but the negotiations fell through in the last minute.

Another topic that has been discussed within the F1 circles was the power unit equalization matter, that was discussed in the latest F1 Commission at Spa before the summer break, which was proposed to allow Renault - rumoured to be 30hp down on power compared to rivals - to catch up under the current power unit development freeze.

The equalization concept, which was applied previously in F1 during the era of naturally aspirated V8 engines in 2007, did not pass in the commission, but Marko claims Red Bull did not oppose it.

"We weren’t against it in the Renault case," he revealed. "But it must be clearly demonstrated that the performance gap is significant. And it must be ensured that the measures taken do not weaken the rest of us.

"That’s why the application has been put on hold at the moment," the Austrian reasoned.

Red Bull have been in Renault/Alpine's position before at the start of the turbo hybrid era when the energy drinks outfit were still powered by Renault who got their sums wrong with their V6 turbo hybrid unit, which meant Red Bull were on the back foot until they joined forces with Honda following a bitter divorce with Renault.

"I can understand their problems," Marko claimed. "Because it’s not just about engine performance. If you are too far behind in performance, you will have to make compromises with the car setup to compensate for the lack of speed on the straights.

"And that comes at the expense of the driving characteristics of the car," the Red Bull consultant concluded.