Mario Andretti has been giving more details about the new Andretti Global team that has applied to the FIA for a spot on the Formula 1 grid from 2024.
The 1978 F1 world champion made the surprise announcement on social media on Friday evening, which was subsequently confirmed by a spokesperson for family-run IndyCar and Indy Lights squad Andretti Autosport.
There was no further comment from the team, but Mario has been speaking to the local Indianapolis IndyStar newspaper in an exclusive interview in which he filled in some of the gaps.
Mario said that the new F1 operation - to be run by his son Michael, himself a former McLaren F1 driver in the 1990s - would be "ready to go the next day" if the application in accepted by the sport's governing body.
If successful, it would become the 11th team in the sport, and the second American squad alongside Haas F1 which was itself the most recent addition to the F1 line-up in 2016..
“For me I’m over the moon at this possibility," Mario said of the prospect of an Andretti F1 team. "There’s no secret how much F1 and motor racing has meant to our family ... We live and breath motorsports. it’s what we do.”
Andretti Global would be based in England, but the cars would be made at a yet-to-be constructed, state-of-the-art facility in Indianapolis. Mario said the team had already secured an engine partner, although he wouldn't divulge who.
He confirmed he was 100 per cent behind the idea of moving the team's IndyCar star Colton Herta to F1. "I want him there so badly," he said. "[Colton] is such an exceptional talent, and he needs to be able to show that in F1.
"I don’t think it would hurt F1 to have another American team, and it would definitely have at least one American driver. That you can count on. If not I’ll cut Michael’s allowance off!" he quipped.
Mario added that that Andretti would be partnering with Dan Towriss, president and CEO of Indiana-based insurance holdings company Group 1001. Its digital services brand Gainbridge already sponsors Herta's IndyCar entry, but is not part of the F1 initiative.
“Michael has been working on this for quite a long time," Mario told the newspaper. “They’re far enough along that if they get the approval to be added to the ten teams that exist in F1 they’re ready to go the next day and put everything in place.
"This didn’t just happen," he said. "It’s serious and absolutely in good faith," he stated. "This isn’t just on a whim or a bucket list thing. This is for real.
"Michael, once he sets his sights on something, he’s relentless. He’s aligned himself with the right people to support it, and he’s doing it right."
Andretti previously attempted to secure a place in F1 by buying up the existing Alfa Romeo team run by Sauber, but negotiations fell through in November over what Michael described at the time as "control issues" surrounding the new venture.
It means that Andretti will now be liable for an upfront $200 million entrance fee to enter a brand new team, but Mario said this had all been taken into account before filing the application with the FIA.
"They’re going in with their eyes wide-open with all the prerequisites," he confirmed. “They’re all set. They checked all those boxes, all of those things that are part of it."
“I don’t know how confident you can feel, but you just hope that the best intentions are forward."
However as one unnamed source told the IndyStar earlier in the week: "I can imagine that if you're one of the existing teams, you're not very excited about adding and diluting the [prize money] pot [by adding a new team].
"It's a stalemate where [some parties might say]: 'Hey, the current situation is pretty good for the ten of us that are involved right now, so we probably want to leave it alone.'"
“All I know is they say they’re working on it," responded Mario. "That’s all they [the FIA] are telling him it, seems. Everything they’ve asked for he can do, so he’s ready to listen.
"The ball’s in their court at the moment."
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