One of the best-known brands in American motorsport, Andretti Autosport, has been in negotiations with the owners of Sauber , which competes in F1 under the Alfa Romeo brand name.
Andretti already has a notable presence in IndyCar, Formula E, Supercars and Extreme E, but his intention was to bring his company into Formula 1 by buying a majority stake in the Sauber Group.
Michael Andretti planned to put Andretti Autosport IndyCar driver Colton Herta in one of the Alfa Romeo team seats in Formula 1, but the deal ended up falling apart due to what Andretti called “control issues”.
Less than two weeks after Andretti confirmed the deal was off, Alfa Romeo announced that F2 driver Guanyu Zhou would complete its 2022 line-up, along with Valtteri Bottas.
While the Andretti deal had a major impact on Sauber’s decisions and future plans, team principal Vasseur made it clear that such talks had nothing to do with his preparations for the 2022 season.
“We didn’t stop at all on the technical side, it didn’t slow down the development, that’s for sure. In some discussions, about sponsors, drivers and so on, we had to keep an eye on it, but nothing changed the situation. It didn’t have a big impact, except that we postponed some decisions.
In reference to whether at any point he felt he might be a distraction for the team, Vasseur responded: “No, it was just a distraction for me!”
Bottas and Zhou have joined Alfa Romeo for 2022 as part of an all-new line-up, replacing Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi.
The team is looking to bounce back in 2022 thanks to new technical regulations after falling to ninth in the constructors’ championship in 2021.
The arrival of Zhou , the first Chinese F1 driver, will mean a financial boost to the team thanks to its variety of sponsors, while Bottas arrives with five years’ experience at the Mercedes team, winner of the last few constructors’ championships.
“For next year, it is a new project that is being developed under the cost cap. We have a new line-up, a new engine from Ferrari and we are trying to put everything together.”
“The most important thing is that we as a company, from the shareholders to the guys in the factory, are all convinced that we are on the right path. This is very important to me, because we need the support of all stakeholders,” he concluded. .
