12/04/2024
NEWS STORY
Undaunted by the sport's rejection, Michael Andretti is pushing ahead with his dream of seeing his cars on the F1 grid.
While F1, with the full support of the majority of the teams, officially rejected the American outfit's entry in January, claiming, among other things, that it would not be competitive and would therefore not "add value" to the sport, Michael Andretti and his father, the legendary Mario Andretti, have not been put off and have continued to pursue their dream.
With F1 offering hope in the form of a possible entry in 2028, Andretti continues its preparations, and yesterday opened a new facility at Silverstone.
"We are still working along with FOM and we will show that we are bringing a lot to the party," Michael Andretti told Sky Sports. "General Motors is coming to the party, they are not just coming to be here, they are coming here to be a big part of our team, and I think it's not been understood yet how big that is.
"They are currently building an engine," he continued. "They are already registered to do it. So we will have an engine in '28, but obviously we need to build to get there. To just, all of a sudden, show up in '28 with a new engine and no team, we need two years to build there to get there that when we do get our own engine the team's ready to go and be competitive.
"So we are not naive in any way in that way," he insisted. "And I think once everybody understands what we are really putting together, it'll be a point where they can't say no."
One of the biggest objections raised by the teams is that an 'extra' team would dilute the prize, but Andretti argues that this is a short-sighted view.
"We feel that we're not going to be diluting the pot, we feel like we're going to be helping raise the pot, and when the pot gets bigger, then everybody is going to share more in it," he said. "It's been a little frustrating, but we'll get our point across."
Indeed, Andretti's ambitions would put many of the current teams to shame, for he intends setting up junior teams in F2 and F3 to nurture American talent and even targets a WEC entry.
"This is going to be mainly for F1, these two facilities," said Andretti, according to Autosport. "But we also want to bring in our Formula E team and start integrating it here.
"Our goal is to have an F3/F2 team to help support the F1 team, and then maybe even a WEC team. So we want to make this our hub for the European racing. So a lot of a lot of cool plans in this area.
"It's not just American drivers," he insisted, "but it'll be a good ladder for American drivers. We're going to still be looking for the best talent in the world, but it's going to give an American driver a fair chance, because normally when an American comes over here, they're not treated the same.
"Here in our team, you're going to be treated fairly, all the way up through the system and plus for us, we'll then be able to really tell the talent, how real it is or not. Because a lot of times you don't know, some father might be paying for 200 days of testing and things like that to make their kid look good! So here we'll know what we have.
"General Motors has never been in Formula 1 so to have them come with us says something because they were not just going to do it just on their own, they wanted to do it with a partnership like us. So I think the whole way we're going about it is something that's never been done before and that's going to be huge for Formula 1, especially in the United States with having an all-American car being built in America with American owners, American engine and American driver.
"It's never been done before, and I think with the American market which is still very much untapped it's only going to help it explode. So to us, it's a no-brainer, and I think to almost anybody you talk to it's a no-brainer, so we've still got to talk to FOM and get them to understand that it's going to be better for everybody."