Szafnauer held talks with Andretti over team boss role

Former Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer says that has held discussions with Michael Andretti regarding the possibility of heading up the latter’s eponymous Formula 1 team if its bid for entry is granted.

Andretti-Cadillac’s proposal to become the newest addition to the F1 grid in 2025 was approved last year by the FIA.

However, the American outfit’s entry is currently being reviewed by Formula 1 amidst resistance from the established teams due to the dilutive effect the presence of an eleventh team would have on the sport’s pool of prize money.

Despite the uncertainty surrounding its F1 endeavor, Andretti is pushing ahead with its plans, having established a design base at Silverstone, hired staff and assembled a technical team led by former Renault technical director Nick Chester.

Andretti has also revealed a 2024-spec F1 model that it has been testing in Toyota’s wind-tunnel in Cologne, mainly for the purpose of getting its processes up to speed.

• Read also: Andretti still in the dark, but pressing ahead with F1 preparations

Szafnauer joined Alpine ahead of the 2022 season but was unceremoniously removed midway through his second year as the Anglo-French marque grappled with a series of setbacks.

As he mulls his next career move, the American appears to have a few irons in the fire, including a potential opportunity to join Andretti-Cadillac if the latter’s F1 plans come to fruition.

“I have had some discussions with Michael Andretti – he’d called me even before I went to Alpine and I told him I’d love to help him,” Szafnauer told Motor Sport Magazine.

While F1 is conducting its investigation into the merits of accepting Andretti within its ranks, the team is still aiming for a 2025 debut, although there is no hard deadline that would necessitate a postponement until 2026.

"We don't really have one, just the earlier that we know, the better car we can do,” commented Chester, speaking to Motorsport.com.

"It's really tricky, it's a super tough question. Because you want to have that confirmation of entry and an entry date, so that you can time the recruitment of all of your staff. Obviously, we're still building up, but you would build up even quicker post-entry.

“The cut-off date is a bit more of a compromise in terms of performance. So you can start pushing it later, but you just end up doing a worse car. The longer it drags out, it makes it harder to put a competitive car on the grid.”

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