Many young talents usually find it difficult to get promoted to Formula 1.
Mercedes boss Wolff is therefore presenting an idea that could completely change the sport.
Kassel - The 2021 Formula 1 season is still in full swing, but the field of drivers for the 2022 season is almost complete.
Only at Alfa Romeo there is still the question of who will be Valtteri Bottas's teammate in the future, who in turn will inherit compatriot Kimi Räikkönen.
Guanyu Zhou, currently active in Formula 2, is considered a top candidate.
If, on the other hand, Alfa Romeo extended with Antonio Giovinazzi, not a single rookie would be in the cockpit for the coming season.
After Dutchman Nyck de Vries, Zhou, Ferrari junior Callum Ilott and Robert Schwarzman would also look into the tube.
In any case, there is no shortage of young pilots, but rather of teams.
However, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff advocates more cars.
Mercedes boss Wolff: Young drivers need a chance - Red Bull open to other teams
"The fact that Formula 1 is as closed as the American franchises makes it the Champions League of motorsport *," said Mercedes boss Toto Wolff recently.
The Austrian is alluding to the system of the US NFL and NBA, in which potential newcomers have to pay horrific sums for a new team.
Nevertheless, it must be ensured "that young, talented drivers can get a chance."
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Could there soon be 30 drivers on the Formula 1 grid?
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has a plan.
© Sebastian Gollnow / dpa
The competition sees it differently.
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner could well imagine a larger field of drivers: “I think there is probably one or two teams missing.
There are a lot of young guys in Formula 2 who deserve a chance.
But there are simply not enough places that are free. "
But Horner himself could change something. With Alpha Tauri, Red Bull runs its own youth team, which has been competing in Formula 1 for years and in the past had drivers like Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel in its ranks.
However, the seats for next year have already been awarded to Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda.
The latter started as a rookie in the 2021 season.
A surprising return to Formula 1 could also be on the horizon in the 2022 season.
Formula 1 with 30 vehicles?
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff expresses a new plan
“You wait for a Kimi to step back so that a cockpit is available somewhere.
So I really believe that Formula 1 could still accommodate one or two teams, ”said Horner.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown is also open and "would like to see an eleventh or a twelfth team," said the American.
The problem: more teams would mean less money at the same time.
"If you cut more pieces out of a cake, everyone gets less," said Christian Horner.
Therefore, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff throws a different idea into the room: Existing teams remain unchanged, but use a third car and thus an additional driver. “We could use a third car and put in a mandatory rookie. All of a sudden you have a starting line-up with 30 vehicles, ”Wolff explains.
However, the idea is a source of criticism. Upgrading a team from two to three cars is “incredibly difficult,” says Williams team boss Jost Capito, who doesn't know “how to do that with 22 or 23 races a year.” In view of the rising costs, Wolff broke one too Financing proposal comes into play. “Smaller teams can have these cockpits financed with money from the driver or sponsors. That could be interesting, ”said the Austrian. But this would rather ensure that talented people with a lot of financial strength would end up in the cockpit. Young drivers with a lower budget, on the other hand, would hardly be of any help. (Nail Akkoyun)
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