Andretti revealed in February that he was working to create a Formula 1 project and join the grid in the near future, after a failed bid to acquire Alfa Romeo through the Sauber Group.
Americans participate in various categories of motorsports, such as IndyCar, Indy Lights , Formula E and Supercars , so the Great Circus would make them present in almost the entire four-wheel world with great importance, in addition to having a driver of guarantees, Colton Herta.
The process to join Formula 1 requires the FIA to issue a formal call for interest for new entries, something they have not yet published.
A meeting took place in Miami on Friday involving Andretti and Ben Sulayem , the current president of the international federation, and it was, according to the owner of the structure that wants to enter the grid, “positive.”
“I think he supports us, but there’s a big process that has to happen,” Andretti explained in the Miami paddock. “He said he is supporting the process, although there is still a long way to go.
“It’s good, Mohamed liked what we presented. I don’t want to say much, they preferred not to talk much about it, but there are positive things,” said the head of the new American project in Formula 1.
Although Andretti thought he “wasn’t going to get an answer for a while” about his addition to the grid, he revealed that there are already plans to set up a factory in Indianapolis , with construction beginning “hopefully in August”.
“We’re spending money to get the project off the ground, because we feel like, with a bit of luck, we’re going to get it done,” Andretti said. “We’re taking a risk, but we think it’s worth it, because we have to get everything up and running, so we’re hiring people and things like that.”
Andretti is planning to have a base in both Indianapolis and the UK, but thought the latter would be better off using one that already exists.
Andretti’s push to join the grid has received a lukewarm reaction from some figures in the paddock. Any new team must pay a $200 million fee under the terms of the Concord Agreement to protect existing teams and prize money.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said in March that he thought any new team had to “show what it can do for the other teams, for F1 and for the FIA” to help the series grow, while top Haas chief Guenther Steiner said in Miami that “ten sets is a good solution” at the moment.
“Ten is not the right number,” Andretti said. “If you really think about it, they have the Concorde Pact in 2025. Now Red Bull owns two sets, and if they say they’re retiring, you’ve got 16 cars left.”
“You can’t have a race with 16 single-seaters. You can have one with 18 cars, but, for me, it gives them more advantage with the teams by having extra teams,” said the son of the 1978 Formula 1 world champion.
Asked if he was surprised by the reaction and the fact that there weren’t more people accepting his interest, Andretti replied: “I think there are millions of people accepting it, it’s just not the right people at the moment.”
