Michael Andretti claims that he is “getting close” to receiving the go-ahead to form his own Formula 1 team.
Andretti has been working with F1 for several months to establish an 11th squad on the F1 grid.
However, he has been met with resistance from several parties, including F1 rival F1 teams, who argue that a new entry must add value to the sport.
By entering as a new outfit, Andretti would dilute the end-of-year prize payouts.
F1 hasn’t had more than 10 teams on the grid since 2016, which was the final year of Manor’s association with the sport.
There were also rumours that Andretti was talking to Red Bull regarding the sale of the AlphaTauri team – however Andretti says that Red Bull is not open to discussion regarding the matter.
“No, they’re not interested [in selling AlphaTauri]”, Andretti said, as quoted by The Indianapolis Star.
“But we’re working every day [to get permission to establish a new team]. I’m still confident.
“We’re getting close. We haven’t gotten the ‘OK’ yet, but we’re getting really close.”
When asked to put a timeline on the situation, Andretti said: “We’re hoping in the next couple weeks. That would sure be a nice Christmas present.
Andretti recently unveiled plans a brand new headquarters, which is estimated to cost roughly $200 million to construct.
But Andretti says that the factory is not solely related to its IndyCar venture – it wants it to be the central hub of its racing operations across various categories.
“This isn’t about IndyCar. With this, we want to do something that’s never been done before,” Andretti told IndyStar.
“We want to be in all forms of auto racing, from Le Mans to Monaco to the Indy 500 and the Daytona 500.
“And eventually in the future, we want it all to be under one roof. That’s our big goal, and we’ve got a lot of plans in the works to get there.”
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