Last year, Michael Andretti was in talks with Sauber Motorsport to take over the Alfa Romeo Formula 1 team. Negotiations were at an advanced stage but broke down at the last moment. However, Andretti has not given up on his dream of competing in the premier class of motorsport with his own team.
“Michael has submitted an application to the FIA to create a new F1 team starting in 2024,” Mario Andretti , the 1978 Formula 1 world champion, announced via his Twitter account. “His bid, Andretti Global, has the resources and meets all the requirements. He is awaiting a response from the FIA.”
Andretti is already active with his own team in IndyCar, Formula E, Extreme E and Australian Supercars, among other championships.
The acquisition of an existing team was the shortest way to expand its activities and reach Formula 1, among other things because a structure that wants to reach the premier class from scratch has to pay an entry fee of almost 200 million euros. This amount is divided among the existing teams as compensation for the simple fact that they will receive less prize money if one more team joins the grid.
Despite this additional hurdle, Andretti appears to want to make his entry into Formula 1 a reality in this way, now that the Alfa Romeo team’s takeover options appear to have completely fizzled out.
Andretti’s interest in F1 is not surprising. The popularity of the top category of motorsports has skyrocketed in the US in recent years following the appearance of the series Drive to Survive , created, filmed and distributed by Netflix .
Formula 1 announced earlier this week that its audience in the United States has increased considerably again, no less than 58%. The growing popularity of the category has meant that this year the Miami Grand Prix is added to the calendar as the second race in the country along with the already existing United States Grand Prix at the Austin Circuit, which this Friday announced an extension in his contract until 2026.
