In February of this year, it was confirmed Andretti Autosport had met all of Formula One Association's criteria and formally applied to have a team enter the F1 grid beginning in 2024.
The confirmation came from none other than the patriarch of the Andretti racing family, Mario Andretti.
If approved, it will mark only the ninth time that an American team would compete in what is widely felt as the pinnacle of open-wheel racing competition; Haas Racing was the latest to join the grid in 2016. Mario also said in his post that son, owner of Andretti Autosport, CART champion, and former F1 driver Michael Andretti, had applied under the name of Andretti Global.
It is not clear whether Andretti Global will be a separate entity from Andretti Autosport, but what is clear is the organization proved its ability to hand over an up front payment of $200 million (196 million euros) to compensate existing F1 teams.
Dating back to the release of the movie 'Rush' in 2013 and more so to the 2019 beginning of the Netflix Formula 1: Drive to Survive documentary series, the sport has seen exponential growth in popularity in the U.S. As a result, Formula 1's governing body has expressed interest in adding a second U.S. team.
Photo: Andretti Autosport
Accepting Andretti Global into Formula 1 would seem to make sense on many levels in terms of marketability and driving increased revenues to the F1 bottom line, which in turn would increase prize money; current teams are concerned about the dilution of the prize money.
Less than a week after the application was filed, Toto Wolf was quoted by Motorsport saying that "Andretti is a name, that's for sure, and the American market is important. But every team that is joining needs to be accretive, that means it needs to add value. And it's not only by paying the $200 million entry fee, but it needs to demonstrate in my opinion what it can do for the other teams, for F1 and FIA. Only then the sport will grow.”
Andretti is much more than a name. Andretti is a dynasty, and the singular household surname symbolizing open-wheel racing that is exceptionally marketable in the states. Mario remains the only driver to ever win the Formula One championship (1978), the Daytona 500, and the Indianapolis 500. Michael Andretti is one of the most successful drivers in American open-wheel racing with an CART PPG Indy Car world championship in 1991, the most victories of any CART series driver (42) and fourth in all-time wins.
His Andretti Autosports team has four Indy Car Series championships and won five Indianapolis 500 races. In addition, Andretti Autosport has multiple entries in NTT Indy Car Series, Indy Lights, IMSA LMP3 Division, Formula E, and new Extreme E.
Photo: Andretti Autosport
The strength of the Andretti brand must be considered by the governing body and not the opinions of the individual teams. A study is in order to determine the impact the Andretti name will have on the sport. Just in terms of sponsorship exposure, the Andretti Autosport IndyCar team alone has over fifty sponsors ranging from global giants such as Honda, DHL, HP, to smaller North American brands like NAPA.
To determine the potential of the American market, one only has to look at the most recent Formula 1 race in Miami. The inaugural event was held on a road course in the shadows of Hard Rock Stadium on May 8, 2022. The event saw 242,955 fans come through the gates over three days with 85,280 on race day.
Even more impressive were the viewership numbers. ESPN reported the live broadcast was seen by 2.6 million in the U.S. - just short of the largest viewership in F1 history of 2.78 million. The previous record of 1.7 million was 27 years ago, for the 1995 Brazilian Grand Prix on ESPN.
While the teams on the grid are rumored to be split down the middle regarding Andretti Global joining the ten other teams on the circuit, Michael was on hand in Miami before the race to visit with nine of them with the hope they would sign a letter in support of a eleventh team joining the grid. Only Zak Brown, head of McLaren Racing and Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi signed in support. Andretti did not meet with his effort's most outspoken opposition, Mercedes-AMG.
If F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali wants to see growth in F1, the American market is an untapped oasis for growth. In America there are no race days, only race weekends, with fans packing campgrounds on Thursday nights for a three-day tailgate party featuring a race at some point, involving cars that often times only turn left. Formula 1 is a different animal when compared to Indy Car and NASCAR racing; and an appealing one at that.
Michael has applied to the FIA to field a new F1 team starting in 2024. His entry, Andretti Global, has the resources and checks every box. He is awaiting the FIA's determination.
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