Formula 1 - why do some teams get multiple entries? Red Bull & AlphaTauri ?

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IcySlivers

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How exactly does this work and why is it allowed? Is there a limit to the number of teams a company can enter into F1? Doesn’t this give huge advantages to the groups that do this as a whole, considering they’ll be on friendly terms with one another. And finally, doesn’t this take away a spot on the team grid for another company to get involved? Like if AlphaTauri had to leave F1 wouldn’t that make more room for yet another constructor? Seems weird that some teams get basically an entire second team to test things out and pull drivers from. It’s a huge advantage for any team to have. So again, why is it allowed?
 
First off, AlphaTauri isn't Red Bull #2. If they were, they would have a car similar, if not, identical to Red Bull's. While they share the powertrain and some other stuff, AlphaTauri is still a team of its own.

Secondly, they're not holding up a team from joining: Formula 1 doesn't have a limit for how many teams may enter. It's just the sheer fact that running a team costs a lot of money, and with the new era of hybrid power units among other things, entering F1 isn't as simple as it used to be. You need a lot of commitment for the sport.
 
Team of its own, a sister team - that functions to develop drivers for the big sister.

In a way they are blocking a new team; the existing grid don’t want to give up any of their portions of the money pie or make the portions a bit smaller, and Red Bull GmbH as parent company have 2 of the slices to themselves.

Also see Haas and their technical partnership with Ferrari.

Things wouldn’t really change anyway if new teams do make it onto the grid by buying/partnering existing outfits. The 2 most likely entries are Audi and Porsche - both owned by VW Group.

A grid of completely unique separate entities is a pipe dream.
 
Secondly, they're not holding up a team from joining: Formula 1 doesn't have a limit for how many teams may enter.
True, but it does have a limit on cars on the grid, which is set to 26, effectively capping the team count at 13, as no one really wants to go back to pre-qualifying (because it was silly nonsense).

Interestingly F1 did used to have a cap on teams, set at 12 2-car teams.

 
First off, AlphaTauri isn't Red Bull #2. If they were, they would have a car similar, if not, identical to Red Bull's.
They used to, until the rules disallowed it and forced each team to build their own car. That's why the Toro Rosso was so good in 08, same Newey chassis as the Red Bull but with a better Ferrari engine. Which ironically Red Bull passed onto them so they could use Renault.
 
All teams get to have multiple entries, it's just that Ferrari and Mercedes have decided to loosely exert power over their customer teams rather than just outright buying a smaller team.
 
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Alpine could've done with a sister team to park some of their juniors, may have avoided the Piastri mess.
 
How exactly does this work and why is it allowed? Is there a limit to the number of teams a company can enter into F1? Doesn’t this give huge advantages to the groups that do this as a whole, considering they’ll be on friendly terms with one another. And finally, doesn’t this take away a spot on the team grid for another company to get involved? Like if AlphaTauri had to leave F1 wouldn’t that make more room for yet another constructor? Seems weird that some teams get basically an entire second team to test things out and pull drivers from. It’s a huge advantage for any team to have. So again, why is it allowed?
Alpha Tauri is the only Real Sister team on the grid (and even then, its purely through association as its existed original as Minardi on its own well before being bought up by Red Bull). Any team link ups, like Alfa Romeo To Ferrari or Williams to Mercedes is purely those big teams using their customer teams to plug in their contracted young drivers (As has been demonstrated with Leclerc and Russell)
 
Keep in mind that the FIA and the F1 teams do have a vested interest in keeping other teams out - the prize pool. That's why they signed that silly agreement that any NEW team to the grid would have to pay something like $250 million to the other existing teams in order to enter.

Conveniently that also means that buying an existing team is FAR more attractive, thus inflating the value of the current teams. Quite convenient. Buying an existing team could save you that $250 million.
 
Good stuff guys, was just something I was always curious about. Still seems like an advantage to have a sister team. Personally I’d rather have an entirely new team/constructor on the grid and get rid of sister teams altogether.

Edit.
Also seems like sister teams are a way for the main teams to horde young drivers.
 
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Also seems like sister teams are a way for the main teams to horde young drivers.
That's the opposite of hoarding young drivers, they're giving young drivers the opportunity to develop and prove themselves in F1.

Hoarding young drivers is what Alpine is doing: promising young drivers an F1 seat in the future, only to neglect their development and never give them an actual opportunity at driving in F1. It chips away at their potential, Piastri has now essentially wasted a year of his life waiting for a seat Alpine had no intention of actually giving him. Meanwhile Toro Rosso/Alpha Tauri is the reason Verstappen already has almost 7 seasons of experience at age 24.
 
That's the opposite of hoarding young drivers, they're giving young drivers the opportunity to develop and prove themselves in F1.

Hoarding young drivers is what Alpine is doing: promising young drivers an F1 seat in the future, only to neglect their development and never give them an actual opportunity at driving in F1. It chips away at their potential, Piastri has now essentially wasted a year of his life waiting for a seat Alpine had no intention of actually giving him. Meanwhile Toro Rosso/Alpha Tauri is the reason Verstappen already has almost 7 seasons of experience at age 24.
But isn’t it kind of assumed a driver from a sister team will move on to the main team? Feel like that’s a way to hold on to young talent and prevent them from going elsewhere if they turn out to be good.
 
But isn’t it kind of assumed a driver from a sister team will move on to the main team? Feel like that’s a way to hold on to young talent and prevent them from going elsewhere if they turn out to be good.
A team can only have 2 drivers, not 4.
 
But isn’t it kind of assumed a driver from a sister team will move on to the main team?
No. Definitely not at this point. Everyone knows what they're signing up for.
Feel like that’s a way to hold on to young talent and prevent them from going elsewhere if they turn out to be good.
It's not slavery, the drivers are free to move to a different team if they do well at Alpha Tauri (once their contract expires, ofcourse).

Alpha Tauri actually gives young drivers the opportunity to turn out good. Even if they then move to another team (for whatever reason), it was still Alpha Tauri that allowed them to prove themselves in F1. Over a third of the current grid drove their first full season for Toro Rosso or Alpha Tauri. No other team even comes close to matching that.
 
No. Definitely not at this point. Everyone knows what they're signing up for.

It's not slavery, the drivers are free to move to a different team if they do well at Alpha Tauri (once their contract expires, ofcourse).

Alpha Tauri actually gives young drivers the opportunity to turn out good. Even if they then move to another team (for whatever reason), it was still Alpha Tauri that allowed them to prove themselves in F1. Over a third of the current grid drove their first full season for Toro Rosso or Alpha Tauri. No other team even comes close to matching that.
But don’t those contracts also release them by the time they are in their mid to late 20s? When they have proven to most likely not have championship potential?
 
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But don’t those contracts also release them by the time they are in their mid to late 20s? When they have proven to most likely not have championship potential?
Alpha Tauri recruits typically only get a two year contract. Tsunoda will be 22 by the time his original contract would have expired. I think Gasly would've been 23 (2019). Albon was 25, but Albon was a little bit on the older side when he made his debut to begin with. Still young enough to have a long career in the midfield, or even as a Barrichello/Bottas/Perez type driver.

If a driver has been proven to not have the potential to win championships while driving for Alpha Tauri, there's really nothing another team could've done for them. If they don't have the potential, they just don't have the potential. But Alpha Tauri at least gives them a good shot.

Imagine if for example Vandoorne had been a Red Bull Junior (probably would've never been likely, but it's just an example). Instead of becoming a rookie at age 25 (which is just too old nowadays) they would've given him the nod at age 22/23 (when he already did well enough in FR3.5 and GP2). That's at least two years of being developed and gaining experience at a higher level, at an age where these things can really help a driver push towards their potential. Even if he was then let go after two years, he still would've been a better prospect at age 25 then he ever was in our time line.
 
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