Andretti Uses the “American” Fans Shield to Defend Its F1 Ambitions: “Why Not Embrace It?”

After Liberty Media acquired the commercial rights to Formula 1, the sport gained popularity across most of the world, with the USA being the focus center. Additionally, the US fan base gained another sport to support with the debut of the hugely successful Drive to Survive on Netflix. Although, if we think of the American team that currently competes in the top tier of motorsport, we can surely halt our search for team Haas. However, the 1978 Champion Mario Andretti’s son Michael believes that the American public needs to get a “proper” American team to cheer for.

There is drama everywhere ever since the FIA approved the entry of the 11th F1 team. In fact, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has recently criticized the Andretti family for entering the world of motorsport in an unethical manner. However, Michael Andretti, who raced in Formula One with Mclaren in 1993, now wants to establish a team that accurately reflects the American audience.

Andretti said during a conversation with Motorsport, “We feel we’re bringing something to the party. We have a commitment from General Motors with Cadillac; it’s a huge investment in our sport. So I think this spells something positive for the sport. We haven’t seen a fully fledged American team since Dan Gurney’s All-American Racers, so why not embrace it?”

While looking at his previous statements, which didn’t make any difference, the former champion now wants to use the American fans as a shield to fulfill his F1 ambition. He added, “The US fan base is so strong. Let’s have a team that represents this country properly. These ingredients should be a positive aspect of F1.”

READ MORE: Not as Visible”: Andretti Not Alone as F1 Teases More Teams for the Future

The Andretti family has encountered a variety of challenges as time has gone by. And it is well known that the F1 CEO previously attacked Americans for making inappropriate statements, so now in response, Andretti has developed a rebuttal.

Mario Andretti comes up with a response to Stefano Domenicali’s criticism

Since the Andretti’s announced their desire to compete in F1, they have been under intense scrutiny. Sometimes this is due to the overly enthusiastic tones they use, and in other instances, it is because of their poor communication. And when Andretti recently issued a statement accusing other teams’ bosses of being ‘greedy’ for the diluting money reward, Domenicali criticized him, stating this was not a “smart” action, and now Andretti has a statement in response to it.

As per planet F1 .com Andretti said, “All we’ve ever done is shown excitement, maybe myself at the prospects of seeing Michael entering Formula 1. I don’t think there should be anything wrong with that. For the rest, we’re following every bit of protocol. I think everything is in place right now.” He added, “That’s all we can do. You can look at this thing in different ways, but I don’t feel that we have violated or have done anything wrong, just showing the excitement of doing this.”

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

The current scenario appears to be in a squeeze, yet as time passes, numerous fresh perspectives will emerge. Having said that, what are your views on the 11th entrant of F1?