Otmar Szafnauer still wants to enter Formula 1 with a twelfth team and has already made contact with a current Formula 2 team
Former Formula 1 team boss Otmar Szafnauer is not giving up the fight for a twelfth Formula 1 team and is still planning to enter the sport with his own racing team. He had already announced in 2024 that he was working on a project with US investors and confirmed his intentions for 2025. He is now even involved in a team – and this is no stranger to the paddock.
In February, Szafnauer was appointed as the new Managing Director and Managing Partner of Van Amersfoort. The racing team currently competes in Formula 2 and Formula 3 and was previously home to Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, Liam Lawson, Oliver Bearman and Mick Schumacher, among others.
However, its majority owner is no longer founder Frits van Amersfoort, but the Mexican Rafael Villagomez, whose son of the same name is now in his third year driving for the team in Formula 2.
“The owner and I have been thinking about a potential collaboration with a Formula 1 team, which could still happen if something interesting comes up for sale or the space for the twelfth team becomes available,” Szafnauer revealed to GPblog.com.
The former Force India and Alpine team principal had already established a relationship with Villagomez when the FIA was looking for an eleventh team. But that ultimately became Cadillac.
“In the course of all these discussions, he said to me: ‘Well, look, why don’t you help me with Van Amersfoort in the meantime?’, as he only bought and expanded Van Amersfoort a few years ago,” said Szafnauer.
“So I said: ‘Okay, I’ll come and help you at Van Amersfoort. But for me to do that, I don’t just want to be an employee. I want to be your partner.” And will this partnership soon lead to Formula 1?
“If they open up the possibility of a twelfth team, we want to do that too or buy in somewhere,” affirms Szafnauer.
Not just Formula 1 on the cards
However, the team is not only focused on Formula 1; a possible start in the IndyCar series, where Formula 2 competitor Prema is currently stumbling and wants to sell its team, or a sports car team are also on the table. “We want to expand strategically and with the aim of increasing the value of the entire company,” he emphasizes.
It is still unclear what a possible project could be called because, according to Szafnauer, it depends on who you buy and which partners you have, but in general there is nothing that speaks against Van Amersfoort for him.
“Bernie used to say: ‘If you buy Marks & Spencer, why would you change the name?” he says. “It all depends on what you buy. If you’re already buying something, part of what you’re buying is already a good name – then you keep it.“
”I’ll give you an example: this is not my decision, but Rafael bought Van Amersfoort and he didn’t change the name. It has a 51-year history.”
No second Stroll scenario
By the way, anyone who is worried that the story will turn into a second Aston Martin, where Lawrence Stroll has basically given his son Lance a cockpit guarantee, can rest assured, because a Formula 1 promotion for Rafael Villagomez Jr. is very unlikely.
The 24-year-old simply lacks the super license points. After all, he has no sporting experience, as he has not finished in the top 10 in any of his Formula 3 or Formula 2 years since 2021.
It is also more than questionable whether Formula 1 would accept a private project like Van Amersfoort and would not rather wait for a major manufacturer or a team from China or the Middle East for his twelfth slot.
