Despite the Christmas Heartbreak, Mario Andretti Reinstates His Faith as Goalpost Shifts Again on F1 Dream

Andretti is a very well-known name in the Motorsport world. It all started with Mario Andretti who won the 1978 F1 World Championship. However, in the current day and age, the Andretti name is there in almost all motorsports except for the one where everything started. As the American team pushes to reinstate the Andretti name back in F1, Mario Andretti shifts the goalpost once again for the F1 dream despite the Christmas Heartbreak. Why is Mario shifting the goalpost?

Andretti has been waiting eagerly to hear from F1 regarding their F1 future. The American motorsport giant has already formally applied to enter the F1 Grid. However, F1 hasn’t formally replied yet as the joining continues to hang in the balance. During the month of December last year, when Michael Andretti was asked about when they might hear from F1, he said “We’re hoping in the next couple weeks. That would sure be a nice Christmas present.”

Unfortunately, the Christmas gift never arrived with the team now being closer to this year’s Christmas in comparison to last year’s. However, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali suggested that the decision about the new teams will be made by the first week of September. Mario Andretti’s faith is reinstated with Domenicali’s statements as the 1978 Champion suggests that a 2025 entry seems more feasible than 2024 as a result of the delay in decision-making.

According to formulapassion.it, Mario Andretti said, “We’re waiting right now, but we should know something soon. There is no specific timing, but we were told at the beginning of September. Getting into Formula 1 in 2025 would be not only beneficial, but also a key factor. It’s something that has been strongly proposed and I think it makes sense. At first we were aiming for 2024, however as the procedure dragged on it became clear that 2025 was more feasible.” [Translated Via Google]

Read More: Unconvinced About Andretti’s Entry, Red Bull Chief Christian Horner Addresses the “Elephant in the Room”

Let’s wait for what the decision is going to be. Most of the teams are against the entry as they want to protect their interest. In case F1 wants the new teams to join in, the current teams have asked F1 to increase the entry fee to $600 million. Meanwhile, Helmut Marko has come up with a unique idea of his own for Andretti’s sake.

Red Bull Taskmaster advises Andretti to buy Alpine

A new team entering F1 hasn’t really been the trend in recent years. It is usually one team taking over another team and/or rebranding them. There are numerous examples of it. Brawn GP & Mercedes, Force India and Aston Martin, Sauber and Alfa Romeo. The list just goes on. Helmut Marko suggested a similar route to Andretti as he asked the American giant to buy the Alpine team.

According to formulapassion.it, Helmut Marko said “Buying Alpine would be the best thing for everyone. Formula 1 would keep its 10 teams, Andretti could finally enter and Renault could still be involved” [Translated Via Google]

What do you think? Will F1 and FIA’s decision be in favor of Andretti?

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