Andretti expresses Christmas hope for F1 entry

Michael Andretti is hopeful a position on the F1 grid as the sport's 11th team will be confirmed before Christmas.

Andretti Global has been vocal in its intention to enter F1 but has faced pushback from the current teams, primarily over the value it would bring given an expansion would dilute the prize pot.

Speaking after breaking ground on a new state-of-the-art $200million headquarters, Andretti provided an update on progress.

“We’re hoping in the next couple of weeks," Andretti told the IndyStar. "That would sure be a nice Christmas present.”

Andretti saw a bid to purchase Alfa Romeo fall through at the 11th hour, leading to it then being linked with a takeover of AlphaTauri.

Asked about Red Bull's willingness to discuss selling its sister team, Andretti conceded: “No, they’re not interested

“But we’re working every day [to earn clearance for an expansion team]. I’m still confident. We’re getting close. We haven’t gotten the ‘OK’ yet, but we’re getting really close.”

F1 pushback quotes not the full story

Despite the unfavourable reaction within F1 toward Andretti's plans, Dan Towriss, CEO of Group 1001, the company that owns major Andretti sponsor Gainbridge, suggested some of the narratives around the bid may have been taken out of context.

“A lot of times, the quotes that get pulled out don’t really tell the full story," he added.

"There’s a lot of conversations going on, and we’re not trying to get out in front of anything or use the media as a tool to influence anything.

"They have an expectation on approach and decorum that people should take in dealing with them and we respect that.”

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