Drivers, engine, factory: Andretti outlines his F1 project
Michael Andretti provided detailed information on his ambitious Formula 1 team project while indicating to the FIA that a response was expected as soon as possible in order to assess the feasibility of joining the championship in 2024.
What was only a rumor a few days ago is now taking more shape: Andretti would indeed like to commit to F1, and the project is much more advanced than announced.
Regarding the future flagship driver of the project, Andretti hasn’t hidden his desire to bring American Colton Herta on board with him. The driver is a superstar across the Atlantic in the Indycar championship, and according to Andretti’s words, having a headliner like Verstappen would make a real turning point in the interest of American fans for the Queen category.
« You are watching the growth of F1 in the Netherlands because they have a flagship driver, he declared to Autosport. « There isn’t one here. If you have a good driver with a good audience like Colton, I think American fans would be over the moon. »
Great power in the American single-seater championship, Andretti already enjoys many partners. Some of them, according to his words, would be very eager for this ambitious F1 project.
« My supporters are awesome, they are there to be competitive, they’re not just there to say they’re in Formula 1. They have turned around sports franchises where they were not competitive to then become competitive, so they know how to do this kind of thing. »
Renault / Ferrari match for the engine, main factory in the USA but headquarters in the United Kingdom.
Regarding the purely technical aspect, the engine that would equip his future team is not yet defined. However, Michael Andretti admitted that Renault was a real option «, but that another option also existed ». This other option would be none other than Ferrari.
Should the future Andretti F1 team factory be located in the United States, but there should also be a base in the United Kingdom for practical reasons.
“We would like to build it here, in the United States,” he confides. “My dream is to do it here, to have a real American car. We would still have a strong presence in the United Kingdom, but we would have its construction here.”
Andretti is definitely eager to join Formula 1, as he has been waiting for an opportunity to enter for a long time.
I am very excited about this, I have wanted to do it for a long time. I think it’s great for our brand and would put us at another level.
A response from the FIA expected by the team within a month.
However, the American CEO has given only one condition to the FIA to commit to F1 in 2024: to have a response within one month to assess whether it is possible or not to enter the championship in time.
« We need it quickly because time is running out for us to be there in 2024. We need to know it within a month. It would be a shame if we couldn’t do it. It will be good for everyone.
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The last team to join Formula 1 was Haas in 2016, already an American team. With the arrival of the Miami Grand Prix, the project for a Grand Prix in Las Vegas, and the probable future arrival of Andretti, Formula 1 continues its journey towards winning over the American public.
