Andretti Global confirmed on Friday afternoon that the team’s CEO and chairman Michael Andretti is working on transitioning away from the operational side of the race team.
The shift will have Andretti putting his efforts into the strategic side of the organization, with the 61-year-old becoming a strategic advisor and key ambassador.
A report was published early on Friday by Sportico which referenced people familiar with the matter to state that Andretti would be leaving his ownership stake in Andretti Global.
A statement from the organization came later in the day, which did not explicitly confirm the change in ownership aspect but did describe how Andretti plans to be less involved in the operations of the team.
“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,” read Andretti Global’s statement.
“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.”
Dan Towriss is the CEO of Group 1001 and has been a co-owner of Andretti since last year, and was involved in the branding change from Andretti Autosport to Andretti Global 12 months ago.
Andretti has been effectively in charge of his namesake organization for over two decades, and has been the point man behind the company’s direction.
In that time, Andretti global has expanded outside of IndyCar and has participated in IMSA, Formula E, and Extreme E.
The team has been pushing to gain entry into Formula 1 in recent years as well, but has come across numerous roadblocks that have put that ambition on hold for the time being.
Even though Andretti has received pushback from Formula 1 over entering the series, he has continued forward with work designing a car and creating a partnership with GM in the form of Cadillac factory support.
More information is expected to be shared in the coming weeks regarding the change in operations.
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