Andretti confirm Renault PU deal, reveal Wolff’s concerns

Michelle Foster 26 Feb 2022 10:30 AM

Renault logo. France October 2021

Should Andretti Global be accepted onto the 2024 F1 grid, the American team will be powered by Renault, which is apparently good news for Toto Wolff.

Last week Mario Andretti announced that his son Michael had applied to the FIA for a spot on the 2024 Formula 1 grid.

But while the FIA weighs up the pros and cons, Andretti has already put into place several deals including an engine supplier.

That will be Renault.

Although Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi recently stated that right now would not be a good time for Renault to supply a second team, he did say the company was “open” to do so down the line.

That line it seems will be 2024, and that second team will be Andretti Global.

“We have formal agreement now on the engine supplier and it’s out there, so it’s going to be Renault and I’m allowed to say it now,” Mario Andretti said in an interview with David Land.

That’s apparently good news for Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff with Andretti revealing that the Austrian had a few concerns about the team linking up with Ferrari.

"I can talk about it now"

1978 @F1 Champion @MarioAndretti CONFIRMS that @FollowAndretti's Formula One team will be powered by Renault power units in 2024.

LIVE NOWhttps://t.co/tR355NK4xN pic.twitter.com/GkuiHnqveG

— David Land™❌ (@DLand91) February 25, 2022

If that happened Ferrari would have three customers – Andretti, Haas and Alfa Romeo – equaling the trio of customers which Mercedes has, those being McLaren, Williams and Aston Martin.

So, that extra Mercedes-powered vote would be no more.

“There was a lot of speculation even from Toto Wolff, he was concerned about potentially it being Ferrari,” revealed Andretti.

The engine supplier is not the only aspect that Andretti Global has decided, the team also finding the premises for its UK base.

“We’re not just new boys in town,” he said in an interview with David Land. “We know the prerequisites and also there’s a time factor here. Once we said go ahead, we’ve got to go.

“So a lot of work has been done.

“We know where the property, where the facility is going to be built. in the UK. We know we have people, prominent individuals that have done this type of work as far as start-ups. We have a lot of things in mind.”

The 1978 World Champion added: “There’s a lot of steps to take here and I understand that, it’s a huge undertaking. But we’re ready for it. We have incredible partners on our side, Michael does, and we’re there for the duration.

“Myself, I’ve been at it for 67 years now so we know what goes on on all sides of the Atlantic. And this is a great undertaking, a wonderful undertaking on Michael’s part. This shows that he’s very, very ambitious in the sport. That’s his business, period.

“We live and breathe motor racing only and he’s at the age now that he has to make the quantum leap, if you will, to be able to give it at least 20, 25 years, a good 25 years in a business. And that’s it, so we’re all in and we’re ready to go.”