F1 Rumor: Andretti no longer wants to run race team. F1 still option (3rd Update)

In this AP Story, Michael Andretti and Dan Towriss make it clear that Michael Andretti was not pushed out of the team by Towriss or Roger Penske, but has ceded control of his motor racing empire, Andretti Global.

The real reason for him stepping away, Andretti told AP, is that he turns 62 next week and has spent his entire life in racing. He is a grandfather now as his son Marco and his daughter in law just had a baby.

“We’ve been working on this for a few months now. For me where I am in my life and what I want to do, the timing was right for me to take a little different role with the team,” Andretti told AP. “A role where I don’t have to be on it every day and I can still stay involved because I’ll be involved as an advisor as well as an ambassador. We were able to come to a deal between myself and Dan and I think we are both happy with what we came up with.”

Both Andretti and Towriss declined to discuss their efforts to join F1, which has been an ongoing battle in which the owners of F1 and the majority of the teams have been vehemently against expansion. Part of the issues seemed to be personal in that the leaders of F1 simply don’t like the Andretti’s.

With Towriss now in charge and Andretti more window dressing, it is not clear if that changes F1’s opinion of Andretti Global’s hopes to join the series. Neither would even say if they are still pursuing F1.

Towriss told AP that in his role leading a global financial firm, he doesn’t envision himself running the day-to-day operations of Andretti Global and that the current leadership team is likely to stay in place. Andretti still holds an ownership stake in the organization, Towriss said, and no drivers have contracts that are voidable if Andretti Global restructures leadership.

“We didn’t say that he doesn’t own our team. There’s all kinds of speculation,” Towriss told the AP. “We certainly have restructured the ownership. Michael still has a financial interest. This got leaked in a way that put us on our back foot in terms of responding to things. People are going to always look to try to fill a vacuum with stories that sound great and are super interesting. This one is not super interesting. Michael said this was a time to take on a different role from the daily grind.”

“I’m 62 years old, and you know, you only have so many years left to do things,” Andretti said. “I’ve had a lot of great things happen for me in my life, and now is the time to enjoy some of them.”

Speculation now centers around whether Cadillac will buy Andretti’s share of the team to help gain approval by Formula One Management to enter as the 11th team.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

In many cases, Manufacturers own F1 teams – think Mercedes, Ferrari, Sauber/Audi, McLaren and Alpine/Renault.   To have Cadillac own a portion of the Andretti team with Dan Towriss at the helm will go a long way toward Liberty Media giving the team the green light to enter F1.

Keeping the Andretti name on the team would be for sponsorship reasons, even if Michael has zero ownership.

Cadillac is still committed to supplying engines to the team starting in 2028.

Statement from Andretti Global to the AP: “Michael’s goal has been to transition to a more strategic role with Andretti Global and focus less on the operational side of the race team. Michael and Dan Towriss have been working closely on developing this new structure, one which Michael “is excited to see take shape under Dan’s guidance.

“Michael remains engaged and will continue to serve as a strategic advisor and key ambassador. We will have more to share in the coming weeks, after Michael and Dan have had an opportunity to speak to the team.”

Having been told by Liberty Media’s CEO Greg Maffei that he will never have his entry into F1 approved, rumor has it that Michael Andretti is going to cash out.

Three people with knowledge of the move have told this to Sportico.

Related Article: It appears Andretti burnt his final bridge into F1 – After he got the US Congress involved to investigate Liberty Media, Maffei blew a gasket and told father Mario that he will do everything in his power to make sure Michael never has a team in F1.

Andretti Global did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Sportico, but one can assume that if Michael is no longer part of the company, its entry into F1 might get the green light.

If true, this might be Michael falling on his sword for the good of the company, or it might be that he is now having financial issues. Zapata Computer Holdings, which Michael’s SPAC (Andretti Acquisition) took public at $10 a share, closed Thursday trading at $0.33.

The company was rebranded as Andretti Global in 2023, less than a year after executive Dan Towriss and his holding company Group 1001 bought an ownership stake in the Andretti motorsports operations. The investment was in part to fund a potential Formula One team.

When Group 1001 became involved, Michael was reportedly only a minor shareholder at that point.

Last year, company was a bidder for an expansion F1 team. Michael was vocal about his desire to land a team, which didn’t help the organization’s bid with the typically tight-lipped F1 governing body. F1 didn’t add any new teams despite the FIA approving his application.

Towriss did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Sportico.

No word if Andretti will stay involved with the other Andretti entities, such as Andretti IndyCar.