Michael Andretti wants his team to be the bridge between American drivers and F1, pointing out that Colton Herta, now at Indy, has not yet had a chance in the elite of world motorsport
If he were Brazilian, Michael Andretti would fit perfectly into the popular saying "he never gives up". Even with Formula 1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali showing resistance in accepting the entrepreneur's team on the grid, Andretti insisted once again that he is waiting for approval to make his team "a legitimate way" for American drivers to enter the main category of world motorsport.
Andretti questioned, for example, the lack of opportunity for Colton Herta, who drives for his team at Indy and has been highly praised this season. "He should be in F1 now, he has the talent for it, but the money [from sponsors] ran out, so he went back to the States and followed the path," the American explained to Motorsport.com.
"I want to make sure we can get kids out of karting and open the doors for them. If they are good enough, I hope they can go to F1, and we will have a team for that - there will be this legitimate deal," the entrepreneur pointed out.
The last time the F1 grid had an American driver was in 2015, when Alexander Rossi defended Marussia in five GPs. It was in Indy, however, that his career was consolidated, reaching the vice-championship in 2018 with Andretti and writing his name once and for all in the history of American motorsport by winning in 2016 the traditional Indianapolis 500 race. Rossi has been confirmed at McLaren for the 2023 Indy season.
When it comes to American victories in Formula 1, the distance is even greater, and it came from the hands of Michael's father, Mario Andretti, at the 1978 Dutch GP. "We want to be an American team that allows American drivers to develop in the future," he said.
"There's nobody out there doing that. That's where we want to be. There is no legitimate way for an American driver to get into F1. That simply doesn't exist. We want to pave that way," Michael concluded.
The Andretti and F1 soap opera continues without a definition. The American wants by all means to put his team in the category, so much so that he sought the most natural way out and tried to acquire Sauber - today under the name Alfa Romeo - and even Haas, but without success. The CEO of the group that bears his family's name even asked the FIA (International Automobile Federation) to make a bid for the vacancy, ensuring that money would not be a problem.