A third F1 car per team could be a good opportunity for certain drivers

While Formula 1 could increase from two to three cars per team to compensate for the lack of teams on the grid, if Caterham and Marussia do not manage to regain their places on the grid, drivers see few drawbacks, with some expressing their views during Thursday’s press conference in Austin.

Romain Grosjean believes that this could offer good opportunities for drivers rather than less competitive single-seaters: « A third car would certainly help some of us to build a good reputation. If you are in a good car and you are fighting with the same cars as the top teams, then it gives you an opportunity to show how good you are and then be called by one of these top teams. »

Daniel Ricciardo also believes that from the drivers’ point of view, this does not have any particular disadvantage: « From our position [as a driver], it’s something, if we are asked to have a third car, I think we will look into it and try to make it happen. From my point of view, having another teammate, I don’t see anything negative. I remember in 2009 I think I had six teammates at one point, in Formula Renault, it was like being in a classroom. I wouldn’t see any disadvantage from a driver’s perspective. »

Lewis Hamilton, on the other hand, is a bit more cautious and wants to make sure that efforts are not diluted by moving from two to three cars per team. But he thinks that if these third cars are driven by young drivers, it would be a good thing: If it’s a seat maybe for a young driver then that’s pretty good. Especially to bring them in, give them the best experience, especially by placing them alongside excellent drivers who have experience, maybe that will offer them even more than what they have had in the past.

Jenson Button, for his part, is not in favor of implementing this new rule, as he told Sky Sports News: « If you have a team like this year [with Mercedes] that is a step above, then they will lock out the podium with the top three places. So personally, I think it’s a shame if we go in this direction. »

Even if it could help him stay in F1 with McLaren in 2015, the Briton is not in favor of it: “I don’t like the idea of three cars in a team. Two cars is the way it has always been, and that’s the way it works in Formula 1.”

Same sentiment from Felipe Massa, quoted by *Autosport*, who is concerned about seeing a dominant team crush Formula 1 even more if the number of cars per team increases from two to three: « The idea is to have as many cars as possible on the track because that’s what people want to see. But if they decide to place a third car on the track, we need to understand what the rules will be. Thinking about this year, by putting a third car on the track, [the fight for] the championship would have been over before the end of the season. You would have always had three Mercedes, first, second, and third in the majority of races. So by the middle of the season, the championship is over. »

Monisha Kaltenborn is rather unfavorable to the idea and believes, as quoted by Autosport, that no matter what, the teams will never be able to agree to implement such a change: “I don’t think it’s a concept we should adopt because it changes our sport too much. It may seem like an interesting concept at first but how are you going to use and manage this car? You can totally alter the spectacle. If you have a dominant team, with a third car that doesn’t score points, then what’s it doing there? It only keeps people away from the points. There are so many issues to study and I don’t think we will find an agreement on this point.”