Andretti expected to re-sign with AGR

No offers to race in F1 came following his Honda F1 joyride, Marco appears content staying in IndyCar.

Coming off a strong third-place performance on the oval at Kentucky Speedway on Saturday night, Marco Andretti remains the only AGR driver still unsigned for 2009. But nobody, including Marco, expects him to be going anywhere else for the foreseeable future.

“We obviously want to be signed as soon as possible," the youngster said hours before the Kentucky race. “This is where my heart lies, with this team. They brought me into the game. It’s exactly where I feel at home and where I think I can do big things.

“There’s nobody else I want to win with (more) than my father. I think we have the resources within the team to allow me to follow through on my ultimate goals: Win the Indy 500 and the championship and just win races."

His father was just as certain that Marco will remain a part of the team that also includes Tony Kanaan, Danica Patrick and rookie Hideki Mutoh.

“I was just asked the question, ‘Would it be good for him to go and see another side, another team, maybe, from the standpoint of growing and seeing the grass isn’t always greener?’ From that standpoint, it probably wouldn’t be bad for him to do it," Michael Andretti said. “But, from the other side, we really feel that he’s on the verge of being a major player in every race. I really believe that.

“He’s got all the tools and it’s all starting to come together. You’d hate to lose that."

Besides, if Marco did leave, where would he go?

“Yeah, what else is there?" he said, grinning. “I mean, (I’m) already at the top, as far as the top team in open-wheel racing in America."

What about Formula One, where his grandfather is one of two Americans to win a championship and his father had a brief, mostly unsuccessful run?

“If an opportunity would present itself in Formula One—the right one, which I’m not sure would … “ he said, his voice trailing off. “It has to be one of the top three teams. The reality of it is, if I won Kentucky, Ferrari’s not going to be knocking on my door.

“That would probably be the only other thing that I would do, which I’m sure Dad would be right there with me, as far as supporting me. But my heart lies in America. I think we can do big things within the team, and it’s definitely where I want to be."