Andretti critical of F1 system: 'If even Mazepin can get a super license'
Chris Jones - IndyCar
F1 News
- GPblog.com
With the announcement of Miami as the second American Grand Prix, Formula 1 hopes to attract new American fans to the sport. According to former world champion Mario Andretti, F1 is also taking an important step with this, but one major factor is still missing.
"I think America is the only country where you can really host two Grands Prix properly. I think the F1 fanbase in America is still low and the only thing really missing is an American driver," Andretti acknowledged in conversation with Autosport. When asked which American driver has F1-potential, Andretti immediately points to his own driver.
IndyCar results should count towards super license
Colton Herta won in the IndyCar for the Andretti team this weekend and the young American has shown what he is capable of by doing so. "He's great in qualifying and from what I've seen in the races he won at COTA and Laguna Seca, he won both races on raw pace. Not on strategy or on fuel loads, he wins against the best IndyCar drivers like Scott Dixon and Will Power."
"If you manage to put an American driver in F1, who then gets results, you create a hype in America. He (Herta) is only 21 so it's a good time to put him in F1". Andretti also takes into account the limited testing in F1 and the license you need for it, but doesn't see any problems with that. "You also have that Russian (Nikita Mazepin) getting his super license and the fastest driver here can't get one? Then something is really going wrong!”