Andretti Racing CEO Michael Andretti says that his organisation are set to put a 2023-spec F1 car in a wind tunnel as they wait for approval from F1.
The FIA formally approved Andretti’s entry to join Formula 1 as its 11th team earlier this month. However, Andretti must be approved by Formula 1 before its place on the grid will be confirmed.
Andretti said he was “very, very excited” about the prospect of joining the F1 grid. “Thank you to the FIA and the president of the FIA for putting the expressions of interest out there,” he told Sky.
“It was very vigorous, it was a very tough thing to go through for our team and I’m proud to say we came out on top in every category and we’re very proud of that. I think it definitely shows that we have the right to be here on the grid and we’re excited about that.
“We’re also really excited about the fan support – the fan support has been overwhelming and I want to thank everybody out there for all your support because that means a lot. We are very excited about the future. We think we have something really to offer to Formula 1 fans.”
Despite not having final confirmation of their entry, Andretti said preparations are already well underway within the organisation. They intend to enter in the final season of the current rules cycle, before F1 overhauls its technical regulations in 2026.
“At the moment we’re still shooting for ’25,” Andretti explained. “Our car is actually going to be in a wind tunnel next week – we have a car already built up in ’23 spec. So we’re flat-out, we’re building a team. At the moment it’s ’25, could be ’26, but we’ll see.”
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Andretti’s father, 1978 world champion Mario Andretti, said he was eager to return to the Formula 1 paddock with a team baring his own famous surname.
“At the beginning of my life, I was dreaming to be in Formula 1, to be a driver – that was really what I cared about,” he said. “And I think luckily, fortunately, I accomplished more than I could have even hoped.
“Now I’m looking to spend the rest of my life, alongside of [Michael], so we can come to the track, we’ll have our own hospitality and I don’t have to wait for somebody to invite me in,” he joked.
Andretti Global already competes in Formula E, sports car racing, Extreme E and other categories.
“I’m so proud of Michael, actually, for his ambition to be in all the major disciplines,” he continued. “And that’s it – that’s how we make a living. This has been it. I’ve been feeding my family through motor racing from day one. This is our life, so we want to be at the pinnacle. Formula 1 is the Olympics of motorsports, so that’s where we want to be.”
However, Andretti’s bid to join F1 as its 11th team has been met with near-universal disapproval by team principals of the current ten competitors due to concerns their addition to the grid would dilute the financial pool for the current competitors. Michael Andretti says he struggles to sympathise with the concerns of the existing teams.
“It’s a mystery to me in some ways, why they’re pushing back,” he said. “They say we’re ‘slicing the pie’, but I think the point is hopefully we bring in more than what we’re taking away and we really believe that.
“I think if you look at the fan support on all the surveys that have been done and things, we think that we’re going to add to it, not take away.”
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