Andretti ‘news and changes’ tease as F1 11th team battle continues

Mario Andretti teased updates to come on the prospective Andretti-Cadillac F1 team following the shock news that Michael Andretti was stepping back.

Formula 1’s governing body, the FIA, has given its approval for Andretti-Cadillac – a union of Andretti Global and the General Motors-owned Cadillac brand – to join the Formula 1 grid as its new, 11th team, but Formula One Management was not so enthusiastic and rejected the bid.

More changes to come in Andretti-Cadillac F1 bid

And it was in October when the bombshell announcement came that Michael Andretti would be giving up his daily running duties at Andretti Global, the team which he has run since 2002.

With Michael to “serve as an advisor to the team” going forward, it has left many questions over the future path of the Andretti-Cadillac F1 bid, so Michael’s father Mario, the 1978 Formula 1 World Champion, was asked to give the latest update on the situation.

He suggested that we have not seen the last of the twists.

“This is an issue that involves my son Michael and his company, not me,” Mario began, when speaking with La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“What I can say is that there will be news and changes, and that my full support goes to my son for all the decisions and choices he has made during this period and will make in the future to manage the situation as best he can.”

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Should Andretti-Cadillac make it onto the F1 grid down the line, they would join Haas as the American representatives.

Formula 1 has enjoyed a surge in popularity in the United States, triggered by the success of Netflix’s hit F1 docuseries Drive to Survive, with the F1 calendar now featuring three races based in the nation, those being the Miami, United States and Las Vegas GPs.

It is an “unthinkable” – as Mario put it – thirst for F1 which has emerged in his home country.

“It is something extraordinary,” he said. “In all my years in the United States I have never perceived such a strong interest in Formula 1, not even in the 1960s when it was followed by Americans anyway.

“There were decades when interest was almost absent, and then suddenly, after the boom of the Netflix series dedicated to the category, an unthinkable love for the sport by Americans broke out.”

Las Vegas is the next stop on the F1 2024 calendar, as Max Verstappen moves ever closer to becoming a four-time World Champion. His lead over Lando Norris stands at 62 points with three rounds to go.

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