After $200 Million Step Toward F1, Andretti Reveals Daring Plan of Action

Mario Andretti is a name easily recognized in the motorsport universe. He is one of the only two drivers to have ever won in not just F1, but also IndyCar, the World Sportscar Championship, and NASCAR. But Andretti’s dreams don’t just end there.

Mario Andretti has been trying his hardest to return to F1, this time as a team.

Mario Andretti is going full speed ahead into F1

Towards the end of 2021, Mario and his son, Michael Andretti, announced their intention to come into F1 as a team as they filed the necessary paperwork with the FIA.

Initially, the Andretti father and son were negotiating a deal with Sauber to take over a substantial part of their stakes. But that fell through right at the end.

That left Andretti with no other option but to try and enter as a new team from scratch. And it does not seem to intimidate them at all. Andretti claims they are going full speed ahead with the idea.

“We’re working every single day on this project, with the intention to be on the grid in 2024,” Mario Andretti told PlanetF1 in an exclusive interview.

“We’re preparing as if we were given the go-ahead. So Michael is on it, and that’s what we expect to do. We’re certainly not giving up. It’s a very serious project for us, and we’re ready to make that investment.”

Mario Andretti is firing on all cylinders to make his dream come true. And his latest step towards that is building a base of operations for ‘Andretti Global’ that would cost somewhere around $200m.

READ MORE: F1 CEO Voices Support For Toto Wolff’s Controversial Opinion

One can only hope that Andretti will beat the odds and manage to win everyone over in his endeavor.

Andretti received a backlash from Toto Wolff

Aside from facing other challenges, coming into F1, a new team requires a $200 million pledge simply as the entry fee. This is to ensure that they compensate the other teams for the dilution of the prize money. Many consider this prize dilution to be one of the reasons Andretti has faced opposition. But even that was not the case.

Many teams are not thrilled about the idea of having another team on the grid with them. Being skeptical of Andretti’s entry as an 11th team, Toto Wolff’s voice was heard the loudest.

“The value of Formula 1 is that it’s a limited amount of franchises. And we don’t want to dilute that value by just adding teams,” Wolff said, on the subject of a new team.

“Andretti is a great name, and I think they have done exceptional things in the US. But this is sport and this is business and we need to understand what is it that you can provide to the sport,” he added.

F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali also backed the Mercedes team principal, “Today I don’t see a weakness in the number of teams in F1. That’s my opinion.”

WATCH THIS STORY: Mario Andretti Teases Blockbuster American Formula 1 Team in 2024

But tables may yet turn if the FIA president deems it so. Will Andretti’s tale be one to become a ‘rising-against-all-odds’ legend, or will be forgotten forever? We may soon find out.