Andretti hopes for 'Christmas present' from F1: 'We are very close to a deal'
F1 News
- GPblog.com
Michael Andretti hopes to get Formula 1 approval to start his own team in the near future. A takeover of another team does not want to get off the ground and so an eleventh team needs to join F1.
Andretti has made no secret of its desire to attach its name to F1. For a long time, there seemed to be the talk of a deal with Sauber, but that deal collapsed at the end. Sauber will now team up with Audi from 2026, while Andretti will have to look further afield. In the background, it is doing all it can to score plus points with Formula One Management. This year, for instance, it started building a new factory.
Andretti to F1
Earlier this year, Andretti let it be known that he hoped to get clarity from F1 sometime in October or November, but since then he has not let anything be known. ''We’re hoping in the next couple weeks. That would sure be a nice Christmas present,'' the former F1 driver said to IndyStar.
In this, Andretti does seem to be really pushing for its own team. With the death of Dietrich Mateschitz, there might have been talk of selling AlphaTauri, but the door is not open for the Americans there. ''No, they’re not interested. But we’re working every day (to earn clearance for an expansion team). I’m still confident. We’re getting close. We haven’t gotten the ‘OK’ yet, but we’re getting really close.''
Andretti is no unknown name in motorsport. Not only did Mario (world champion in 1978) and Michael drive in F1, but Andretti Racing is also active in IndyCar, Formula E, IMSA, Extreme E, and Indy NXT. It hopes to add F1 in the future.