Andretti denounces 'snob' attitude in F1 world

Since the first rumors, last February, which echoed an interest from Andretti concerning an arrival in F1 In the coming years, not much has progressed in this direction. It is not the fault, however, of seeing Mario Andretti and especially his son, Michael, fighting with all their weapons to reach an agreement with the teams and F1. The two men were also present in the Miami paddock (last May 6-8), for a tour of the stables. Because this is the difficulty of the mission: to win your entry ticket, you must succeed in making eyes at the ten members of this closed league, and convince them that their integration would bring more money to the together that it would cause them to lose some by re-dividing the cake into 11 instead of 10. This is obviously not an easy task. 

Several stables, such as Alpine ou McLaren, have already publicly positioned themselves in favor of Andretti's arrival in Formula 1. There remains around half of the paddock to convince. “I have this feeling that F1 is still a club of Europeans, when I see the way we are treated, confided Michael to GQ in a river interview. Because we would be a threat… the first real international team! ». Mario and his son still firmly believe in an arrival for 2024, but to do so they will need to move lines which for the moment seem... quite conservative. “They adopt a very snobbish attitude, denounces Michael again when talking about the world of F1. By necessity, we are going to bring more value and resources to F1 than we get out of it. »

Andretti believes he is the missing link in F1

Andretti Global has in fact the fact of being a well-known American team established in the United States, which constitutes an absolutely priority market for F1 and for its owner Liberty Media. “I try to remind them that there are 350 million people in this country, and of course there's been a big increase in interest here with Drive to Survive, but they shouldn't settle for that. that they have. They've captured the attention of the American audience, but fans can get tired of them. You have to keep taking the hook out if you want to keep them for the future. And we feel like we can be that hook. We are a real American team, with a real American driver. There would finally be a root for our country to cling to. » 

In addition toAlpine and McLaren, the Andretti gentlemen still believe they have already convinced one or two additional teams. “I think we have four or five teams on our side. But the others are blocking the schmilblick, so how are we going to get out of this situation? I tell them: OK, you may have that today, but what do you think about what we can bring for the future? But they don't care about that, they don't care about F1. The only thing that matters to them is themselves. But that's how F1 works, it always has. » On the Andretti side, we denounce in particular the attitude of Toto wolff, which highlights the potential financial losses of the ten teams already present in F1 in the event of the arrival of an 11th member. “He uses this as an excuse, pushes Michael. But he thinks this way: I'm going to have one less vote, one more vote against me, that's how he thinks."

However, despite the facade speeches of the various main teams which highlight the power of the Andretti name in the event of the arrival of the American team in F1, Michael did not expect anything other than distrust in moment to knock on the door of F1 to join the closed league. “We knew what we were getting into. You're swimming with sharks, so it's best to have your harpoon with you. I'm not naive about this. Maybe I was a little when I was a pilot, but because of this experience, I'm not anymore. Everyone has their knife in their hands, and is ready to stick it in your back at the slightest opportunity.” Given the picture painted by the Andretti camp, it is difficult to imagine the situation changing in the coming weeks...

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