Michael Andretti has confirmed he is stepping down in charge of the Andretti Global team which competes in IndyCar, Formula E and other series.
Last the year the FIA approved Andretti Global’s application to enter the Formula 1 world championship. However F1’s commercial rights holder Liberty Media refused to let them join the series.Now Andretti, son of 1978 F1 world champion Mario Andretti, has announced he will hand control of the team over to business partner Dan Towriss.
“I was born a racer,” said Andretti in a statement released by the team. “From an early age, I didn’t know anything different than life in the fast lane. Being a ‘son of’ – be[ing] it a proud one – came with a high bar and once I pressed the gas, I never looked back.
“I stopped at nothing to find success. I drove for the passion and love of the sport, but I won for the fear of losing. My father’s childhood dream became my destiny and together, we built a legacy and a family business.
“When my driving days slowed, I set my sights on creating a space that would inspire future drivers to go faster than I had. I believe that, together with the help of many very qualified and passionate team members, I have been able to do just that. For the past two decades, our team has seen the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. We’ve grown on a global level that I believe is still untouched in motorsport and we’ve seen some of the best talent in racing proudly wear the Andretti badge.
“Many of my best memories have come at the wheel of this organization, and I am so proud of what we have built. But decades of running flat out doesn’t come without sacrifice and, after much thought and reflection over the past several months, I came to the decision to take a step back. I’ve had a day-to-day operational role since even before I stepped out of the race car, and it’s time now to pass the baton to my partner and friend, Dan Towriss.”
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Coming so soon after his efforts to take his team into F1, Andretti said his decision “is somewhat of a shock to many, especially you, the fans, my extended family” but he intends to remain as an advisor.
“For many of you, you’ve watched me grow up, or you’ve grown up right alongside of me, and no matter what moves we’ve made as a team, you’ve stuck by our side at every turn. It is not lost on me that the generations of Andretti fans are the best in the business. I’m honoured to be considered a fan favourite, a role model and a friend. And I thank you for a lifetime of support and, in some cases, your brutal honesty.”
“But I am not going away – I will be serving as an advisor for the team and will be available to help wherever I can. While you might see me less at the racetrack, know that my passion for the sport and my support for our team, and its people, will remain unwavering.
“My hope is that you, as Andretti fans, will keep supporting our team with the same enthusiasm and loyalty that you’ve so graciously shown myself and my family over the years.
“I’m excited about the opportunity to spend more time with my beautiful family, including my 10-year-old twins, embrace my new Nonno [grandfather] title and explore new things on a personal level and with my other businesses. So, this isn’t a goodbye. It is just the turning of the page.”
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Tristan
7th October 2024, 23:45
I wonder whether F1 knew this was coming and why they turned the entry down, considering team names can change too easily in F1. Entering with Andretti could have been a back door for a 3rd party, just to end up on the grid as a back-marker. If GM backed out it would just add costs for a manufacturer and not really bring much at all other than a name that isn’t really there like Williams.
Tristan
8th October 2024, 0:26
(I still don’t think it’s a good idea regardless and if someone has the money to pay whatever the fee is they should be allowed to, but just musing…)
anon
8th October 2024, 9:51
Tristan, there were some rumours that FOM believed that Michael was planning to sell the entry rights on and did not want to actually commit to the sport.
With regards to this particular announcement, there are those in the USA who are wondering if this is more of a case of the team, and perhaps Towriss in particular, beginning to see Michael as being a bit of a liability and quietly moving him out of the limelight to help reset relations with others.
Michael has been rather critical in public about Roger Penske’s management of IndyCar over the past year, demanding that he either invested more or that he sold off the series to somebody else. Unsurprisingly, that does not seem to have gone down well with Roger Penske, and it seems some of the other team bosses felt that Michael’s comments were a rather unsubtle attempt to push Penske into selling up to Michael instead.
Now, Michael has made a point of saying that he wasn’t being pushed out by Roger Penske from his position, saying that he “would not give Roger that much credit” for this decision. However, there are some wondering if Towriss perhaps felt that Michael needed to step to one side to repair some of the damaged relations in IndyCar.
Added to that, there is speculation over whether the poor results for the Andretti IndyCar team have also played their part. The team hasn’t had great results in recent years, and with the recent loss of one of their larger sponsors (DHL) to Ganassi, the loss of funding has forced them to cut back from four cars to three (with the third car being the one that they run in partnership with Curb-Agajanian). The investment that the Andretti Group made in an AI company also looks like it might have been a misstep, as the value of the shares in that company subsequently collapsed and that company is currently operating at a loss.
That’s led some to speculate the other investors in the Andretti team, including Towriss, feel that Michael hasn’t been delivering the results they’d expected for the money that’s been put into the team, and that they put him under pressure to hand over the day to day operations of the team to somebody else.
Dex
8th October 2024, 0:33
Even so, that makes this hypothetical Andretti F1 team no different from the rest. It’s such a traditional thing in F1, to change the team name, ownership or entire identity, that it’s hard to imagine the sport without it. It’s hard to make a claim, even short term, that any of the current teams wouldn’t do the same (except maybe, just maybe Ferrari).
There are tons of speculation over the future of Mercedes, even Red Bull in recent times, while Renault (“Alpine”) becomes an ordinary Mercedes customer team, shamelessly I might add.
Again, expecting Andretti to make long term promises wouldn’t be fair. Besides, F1 just lost a manufacturer anyway, so what makes Renault a more dependable partner, or Honda for example? They both come and go as they please.
But then, this wouldn’t be a first unfair argument (what about expecting a new team to fight for podiums in their first year?).
What do Haas, Sauber, Torro Tauri Visa Whatever, bring to F1 that raises the bar so high? It’s all about money and nothing else. If it’s true that Renault plans to sell (or at least considers), having a new team would immediately drop their asking price; and same goes for others. Of course they won’t allow it. The issue is with them having any say in the matter.
RR
8th October 2024, 15:48
Dan Towriss through his Group1001 was always the one who was footing the bill for the Andretti’s F1 project – and to a great effect other Andretti’s racing endeavors, that was no secret.
What has changed though is that it became clear Andretti’s not-so-diplomatic approach did not work out, and GM / Cadillac was not happy about this. In a short period of time Andretti managed to start wars with FOM, Roger Penske and Rahal-Letterman-Lanigan IndyCar team. So Towriss basically threatened to pull out with all his money unless Michael Andretti steps down, to keep Cadillac on board and protect his investments.
Jay lashua
8th October 2024, 0:52
Isnt it obvious? No team while michael runs it. Michael is out.
Jay
8th October 2024, 3:07
Maybe. I kind of wonder if this isn’t like the Vince McMahon situation. Did Michael ever visit any islands?
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
8th October 2024, 19:56
probably the opposite.
MichaelN
8th October 2024, 8:20
Not having an engine for his motorsport team is certainly a bigger issue.
I’d like to see more teams of the grid, even if they’re slow. So what? That’s what the 107% rule is/was for. But Andretti made a right mess of his application by proposing to race in 2025, 2026 and 2027 without an engine.
SteveP
8th October 2024, 9:44
Stating the identity of the elephant in the room will just win you zero fans in the Andretti support camp.
I think he was working on the assumption that he could force majeure a PU from a PU supplier with very few (actually none) customers.
The reason Renault had no customer teams? Yeah, even their own works team don’t want that PU in the car.
Roger Ayles (@roger-ayles)
8th October 2024, 23:31
He had an agreement from Renault to supply an engine.
https://www.racefans.net/2022/02/25/andretti-has-deal-to-use-renault-power-units-and-plans-uk-base-for-f1-team/
That agreement lapsed because the application process took too long but Renault were very clear about been open to restart the agreement if the Andretti entry was accepted.
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/renault-says-andretti-talks-will-only-resume-once-it-gains-entry/10573498/
Of course now there won’t be any Renault engines beyond next year but that wasn’t known at the time. And who knows maybe if they were getting some extra revenue from supplying a 2nd team (Something Renault did say they wanted to do to help with development costs) they would have been more willing to continue the engine program.
S
8th October 2024, 9:13
That’s not obvious at all. There’s still no 11th team allowed as far as FOM and the other teams are concerned, regardless of who owns or runs it.
Andretti leaving his own team is based (at least partly) on the lack of success in gaining commercial entry into F1.
But there was nothing more he could have done to gain it. Everything FOM said they wanted from Andretti, they got.
There isn’t an entity in or outside of motorsport that could have given the existing F1 teams an instant 10% boost to F1’s earnings. No team was ever going to be accepted under the current Concorde Agreement – nor will any under the next one while the teams are allowed to create it with their collusion partner (F1’s commercial rights holder).
SteveP
8th October 2024, 16:05
Hardly.
F1 is a motorsport, and the flagship item that Andretti offered was the Cadillac (GM) PU – which won’t be available until 2028 according to GM. FIA/FOM repeatedly say they want more motor manufacturers in the F1 game.
So, FOM suggested they resubmit with a bid to enter the grid when they should have a PU, because turning up without the main part of your bid is just a tad foolish.
Stephen Crowsen (@drycrust)
8th October 2024, 4:30
The problem with passing on the baton is the next baton holder can easily not see your vision the way you see it. Maybe Michael should have tried to buy one of the current teams. Sadly F1 is poorer for not having him racing with them.
S
8th October 2024, 9:13
He did. At least two of them.
Sham (@sham)
8th October 2024, 7:11
I have to wonder if the team will get in now, the next time they try – I’m not sure what that says if they do, or if they don’t.
I’m still very much of the opinion that if a team can build a formula 1 car that meets the regulations and the 107% cut off time for qualifying, then they should be allowed to race – and if there are more entries to a race than the grid can support, then they can qualify to see if they’re fast enough, amongst the competition , to race.
That’s what qualifying is for, to see if you qualify.
MurasamaRA300 (@murasamara300)
8th October 2024, 9:30
Very well put: “That’s what qualifying is for, to see if you qualify.”
I completely agree.
The qualification parameter has been removed from F1 in recent years.
That is exactly what devalues the entire sport – regardless how many billions they throw at it.
If an 11th team gets accepted now, I’d wager that 11th team will not bear the Andretti name. Instead I would be expecting yet another meaningless “global brand” owned by the usual “stakeholders”. And if that should happen, it would indicate to me that this saga was personal all along…
just my 2p
SteveP
8th October 2024, 9:50
Well, if the application is aimed at being on the grid in 2028, when the Cadillac PU is supposed to be available, and happens to be the timing suggested in the FOM response, it wouldn’t surprise me if the entry is accepted.
What would that say?
Mostly it would say that “Team A” had met the conditions and were not trying to bluster their way in. Simply follow the rules, tick the boxes, move forward and play the F1 game.
Don
8th October 2024, 15:11
Its all very odd. One would think Michael would have released this statement first, if this was actually what was going on.
Robinson
9th October 2024, 13:42
To be fair ,this whole charade seemed to be F1’s mistake. For not letting another team in , I mean. But having read much info on both sides of the pond , it certainly feels like someone is just pushing the narrative. It seemed to be a legit project with Cadillac behind the whole thing. It would’ve been absolutely been awesome for the fans to add another competitive team on the grid with true motives ,but now it’s starting to look like yet another Haas type of thing.
PT
10th October 2024, 20:34
What will now happen of Andretti’s F1 campaign?
bonbonjai
11th October 2024, 9:19
Your choice of word there “campaign” said it all.