F1: Snubbed Andrettis feels F1 is still a European closed-door club (Update)

If the Andretti team’s bid to join Formula 1 from 2024 is rejected it would mark the “worst moment” of Mario Andretti’s momentous motorsport career, according to the 1978 F1 world champion.

Mario’s son Michael is leading the effort to get Andretti Global on the F1 grid from 2024 after its deal to purchase the Sauber-run Alfa Romeo entry collapsed last year.

See related rumor: According to AutoRacing1.com (AR1) sources the FIA wants to see that the Andretti effort has enough funds for at least five years.  So, the real issue is money.

Andretti has submitted paperwork to the FIA but appears to be no closer to securing the 11th spot on the grid, with F1 believed to prefer having a manufacturer if it is to accept any additional teams in the foreseeable future.

Mario spoke on this week’s episode of the WTF1 Podcast to answer listeners’ questions and explain the latest on Andretti’s F1 bid.

“They can make it as difficult as they please, and sometimes I cannot believe that the process has to be this complicated,” Andretti said of the process to join F1.

“But they have to realize how serious we are, how committed we are, it’s not just in and out, it’s a long-term commitment with the investment that will be made.

“Please take us seriously, this is all we do, this is all we love.

“This is all we’ve ever done in our professional life, so what’s the problem here? We want to be on the grid in 2024.”

Michael Andretti’s latest disappointment towards the F1 establishment comes in a joint interview alongside father Mario for GQ magazine called – Can Mario Andretti Conquer F1… Again? 

Andretti’s effort to enter F1 has met with resistance from at least half the existing F1 teams and even current F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali.

Michael and father Mario spent much of that weekend during the Miami GP meeting with FIA officials and lobbying other teams. He moved up and down the paddock, from one team hospitality suite to the next, making his pitch that the Andretti brand is positioned to grow the sport in America in ways that nobody else could. He carried a Miami Dolphins folder containing a sheet of paper where teams could pledge their support, like he was collecting signatures to become a town alderman.

“I think we have four or five that are definitely in our corner,” he tells me. “But the others have their hand out: What are we going to get out of it? That’s what it’s all about—and they’re all being shortsighted. I’m saying: Okay, you can get that now, but what about what we think we can bring to the future?

“But they don’t care about that. They don’t care about the series. They only care about themselves. But that’s the F1 way—it’s always been that way.”

“I’m trying to remind them that there’s 350 million people in this country,” Michael says, of the U.S., “and that, yes, there’s been a spike in interest here with Drive to Survive, but that they shouldn’t be content with what they have. We’re just skimming the surface.

“They’ve captured the interest of all these new fans—but fans are a little fickle.

“They’re confident that they have the American audience now. But you need a hook to keep them in for the future. And we feel that we can be that hook.

“We’re a true American team, we get a true American driver. Now it’s, Oh, there’s really something for the country to root for. That’s where I think our value really comes in strong, to keep that fan that they just got.”

“It’s a very snobbish approach they’re taking,” he says. “Ultimately, we’re going to bring more value than we’re going to take away.”

What of Toto Wolff’s cries of dilution?

“He’s using that as an excuse,” Michael says. “But you can tell he’s looking at it and thinking, I’m gonna have one less vote. It’s gonna be one more vote against me, that’s the way he’s thinking about it.”

In the article both Andrettis make reference to Michael’s unhappy F1 try as a driver in 1993.

He joined McLaren to race alongside Ayrton Senna from CART IndyCar, where he’d been champion in 1991, but was dropped before the end of an incident-filled season in which he managed just one podium finish.

“It was a definite European club,” said Michael of F1 in 1993.

“And I’m getting the feeling it’s still the European club, the way we’re being treated. Because we would be a threat. The first real international team.

“It’s a very snobbish approach they’re taking. Ultimately, we’re going to bring more value than we’re going to take away.”

His father Mario, F1 champion in 1978, added: “I’m the one that has all the connections. And I don’t have an axe to grind. Michael does. And some of that doesn’t help him.

“You know, unfortunately, he, as a driver, had such a negative experience. He definitely joined the best team at the worst possible time. And then: circumstances…”

“I pretty much knew what we were getting into here. You’re swimming with the sharks. So, you better make sure you have your harpoon on you. I’m not naive about that.

“I was naive maybe when I went into it back when I was a driver, but probably because of that experience, I’m not naive now. Everybody’s got their knife, and they’re ready to stab you in the back.”