Michael Andretti’s bid to enter a Formula One team in 2026 has been clouded in controversary. There has been considerable pushback from existing F1 teams who do not want an eleventh team on the grid.
By Graham Duxbury
Statistically, Michael was one of the most successful drivers in the history of American motorsport and since his retirement has become one of the most successful team owners. His team, Andretti Autosport, has won four IndyCar Series championships and five Indianapolis 500 races.
Michael is the son of 1978 F1 world champion Mario Andretti, who in 2022 took to Twitter to reveal the news that Michael – who raced for McLaren in F1 1993 – had intentions to enter F1 as a team owner. “His entry, Andretti Global, has the resources and checks every box,” wrote Mario.
Many believe Michael sees F1 as unfinished business. On leaving American racing at the top of his game in 1993, he joined the McLaren F1 team and made his debut at the SA Grand Prix at Kyalami.
He was only ninth on the grid, but would possibly have been higher but for the engine in his McLaren seizing during qualifying.
Then, in a scenario that would come to characterise his disastrous F1 career, the car stalled at the start. Michael got going, but retired after four laps following a clash with a fellow competitor.
The debut couldn’t have gone much worse, yet his season was little better. The four laps he completed at Kyalami were four more than he managed in the next two races. Early crashes side-lined him in Brazil and at the European GP at Donnington Park. At Monaco he finished eighth – but was lapped twice by teammate and winner Ayrton Senna.
Crashes, poor performances and mishaps raised the ire of McLaren boss Ron Dennis and before season’s end Michael was replaced by McLaren reserve driver, Mika Hakkinen.
Many reasons are proffered for Michael’s F1 failure. Critics say he was not fully committed to F1 as he was unwilling to base himself in Europe. Instead, he commuted from the USA via Concorde. Then there was his struggle to adapt to the then new generation of F1 cars which featured active suspension. This required him to “reprogramme” his driving style.
There was always the test of having Ayrton Senna as a teammate. At Kyalami Michael was three second per lap off Senna’s pace and although this shrunk to an average of 1.4 seconds as the season progressed, it was clear that he wasn’t comfortable in the car.
Of his brief sojourn in F1, Michael says: “I knew I was capable of being on the podium in a lot of the races. In many of them stupid things were happening that were unexplainable, so it was very frustrating, really disappointing.”
Perhaps former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone called it correctly when he said that McLaren was the last place to which Michael should have gone. “A difficult car, a team in transition and Senna as your teammate. He had no chance.”
Michael’s need to set the record straight is probably the main reason why he wants another crack at F1, this time as a team owner.
Will he achieve his goal? The negative reaction from the F1 establishment has been formidable. Former F1 managing director Ross Brawn says: “I think 10 healthy teams in F1 is actually enough. We must learn from history, so many small teams came and went, and didn’t really add to F1.”
Andretti cannot be faulted for trying to appease his critics. He first tried to purchase the Sauber team but this deal was scuppered when Audi stepped in.
Then he gained a major ally when he teamed up with General Motors and the Cadillac brand. Nevertheless, the bid continued to receive an adverse response from the teams who complained about an eleventh team diluting “their” prize fund.
“It is all about greed and looking after themselves,” said Michael, dejectedly.
The Andretti/GM bid gained some support from FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem who soon after – conveniently for the anti-Andretti lobby – stepped back from direct F1 involvement in “a pre-planned move”.
Nevertheless, the FIA has set the deadline for new F1 team applications at 30 April 2023 with decisions to be announced on 30 June.