London [UK], July 16 : Ferrari chief Frederic Vasseur, who sat alongside Mercedes chief Toto Wolff at the team principal's press conference at Silverstone, pushed back against the suggestion that F1 needs more American teams, as per the Formula 1 website.
This comes after Andretti, an American, collaborated with General Motors brand Cadillac on their entry bid.
Vasseur believes that it is drivers, as opposed to teams, who grow the sport's popularity.
"Very often we are speaking about the nationality of the team but for me, it's absolutely not an argument," Vasseur said.
"F1 is not just a UK championship because we have 70 per cent of the teams based in the UK.
"The attractivity of the F1 is much more based on the nationality of the drivers and so it's nothing to do with the nationality of the team.
Wolff agreed with Vasseur's point, highlighting the fact that F1 already has an American-owned team in Haas, and pointing to the example of a two-time world champion growing the sport's popularity in Spain.
"The team's nationality plays no role," Wolff said. "We have an American team for a long time, we need to have a good points system that we attract more drivers from the US, that we make them eligible for a Super Licence.
"We need to support young drivers like Logan Sargeant to give them enough time, because like we've seen with Fernando in Spain, you've got to race at the front.
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