If Andretti Global’s bid to create a new Formula 1 team and enter the championship from 2024 is rejected, Mario Andretti says it will be the worst moment of his long motorsport career.
We have repeatedly told about the project of Michael Andretti, the son of the world champion in 1978, and that he is stuck; it became known in February, when an application was sent to the FIA on behalf of Andretti Global, but it appears no progress has been made in all that time. Even if Formula 1 does not rule out the possibility of the number of teams increasing in the future, the championship organizers would probably prefer such an initiative to come from some major car manufacturer.
“They can make it as hard for us as they want, and sometimes I just can’t believe it’s all so hard,” lamented Mario Andretti, who participated in the WTF1 podcast. “But they need to understand how serious we are, how eager we are to reach our goal, because this is a long-term project with major investments.
People take us seriously; Motorsport is what we do, what we love. We’ve been doing it all our professional lives, so what could be the problem? We want to start in 2024.
When you talk to one of the team leaders, you get the feeling that an agreement can be reached, but then suddenly the situation changes. It is not entirely clear at what level everything is currently stuck. I think the biggest problem is the position of the teams and Liberty Media.
If we don’t, it will be the biggest disappointment of our entire professional life in motorsport. Formula 1 started my love for motorsport and if they reject us it will be the worst moment of my career.”
Mario Andretti’s career was indeed long and glorious, as he achieved success in several racing categories, including winning 12 Formula 1 victories and becoming World Champion in 1978, but nine years before that, in 1969, he won the Indy 500 and has four . IndyCar titles to his name. In addition, in 1967 he won the Daytona 500 in NASCAR and in 1995 his crew won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the WSC class.
Formula 1 teams aren’t really showing much interest in the Andretti Global project – with the exception of Alpine, as Renault is eager to supply the Americans with their engines, and McLaren. Zach Brown, the head of McLaren Racing, has a long-standing partnership with Andretti and they work together in other racing series.
“We have responded to all requests, so now we just wait and are ready to listen to what else Formula 1 needs, and we continue to work on our project every day,” added Mario Andretti.
Source: F1 News
I’m Todderic Kirkman, a journalist and author for athletistic. I specialize in covering all news related to sports, ranging from basketball to football and everything in between. With over 10 years of experience in the industry, I have become an invaluable asset to my team. My ambition is to bring the most up-to-date information on sports topics around the world.
