This is Not Bad for IndyCar
There was a tidal wave of reaction and response last week, when Michael Andretti was rejected in his bid to join Formula One as a new team for the 2025 or 2026 season. Despite meeting all of the set criteria, Andretti Cadillac was told they weren’t welcome to play on the big stage with F1.
For the record, I join everyone who says this is purely political and that the whole process of jumping through the Formula One hoops is a total sham. I think it is foolish and short-sighted to snub an American-based team, especially when it carries the name Andretti.
But IndyCar fans seem to taking this personally, and are decrying the decision as if this is a giant blow to the NTT IndyCar Series. I disagree.
How on earth does this have a direct negative effect on IndyCar. It has long been assumed that if Andretti were to join Formula One, that he would put Colton Herta into one of his F1 cars, taking away one of the young stars that IndyCar has been promoting for the past few seasons.
The team formerly known as Andretti Autosport (now Andretti Global) saw a resurgence last season – winning two races with another young star, Kyle Kirkwood. For 2024, they will have a recent Indianapolis 500 winner in Marcus Ericsson, who also won a race last season. While results had been slim in recent years prior to the 2023 season, Andretti Global has been one of the most successful teams in attracting sponsors. One of their mainstay sponsors, DHL, recently defected to Chip Ganassi Racing; but over the years – Michael Andretti has proven that he can attract and keep sponsors.
I have always felt that if and when Michael Andretti finally gets into Formula One, his IndyCar team will suffer. That could mean either Michael’s focus is diverted away from his IndyCar team, or some financial support – or both. Would Michael shut down his IndyCar team if he finally got his F1 wish? Probably not, but I do see it not being the priority it once was to him. That’s only natural.
Andretti Global has grown tremendously after Michael Andretti, Kim Green and Kevin Savoree bought Barry Green’s CART team, Team Green and moved it to the IRL prior to the 2003 season as Andretti-Green Racing. In 2010, the team was re-branded as Andretti Autosport, after Michael bought out Green and Savoree. Those two founded Green Savoree Racing Promotions and are currently the promoters for the IndyCar races at St. Petersburg, Toronto, Mid-Ohio and Portland. They are also the owners of the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Andretti Global has also branched out to Indy NXT, IMSA, Formula E, Extreme E and Australian Super Cars. There have been whispers in the past that the team might get into NASCAR, but I’ve not heard much on that front lately. Still their core business is the IndyCar team. Since moving to IndyCar in 2003, the team has amassed four IndyCar championships (their last in 2012) and five Indianapolis 500 victories (their last in 2017).
While the team has won at least one race every season since going winless in 2009, it has been questioned whether or not they have been supplanted as one of The Big Three. Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing are locked into their spots of The Big Three. Andretti Global used to be considered the other team in that select group. In recent years, some have questioned if Arrow McLaren has taken their spot in The Big Three. Such talk has subsided for the moment, as Andretti won two races last season, while McLaren won none.
But there is no question that Andretti Global is recognized as one of the top teams in the NTT IndyCar Series. That could change if their IndyCar team becomes a second priority.
The reaction I’ve read from fans over the past few days indicates that fans are taking this personally – like their child didn’t make the cut for the Little League team. Little Joey’s obvious talents are being grossly overlooked, while the coach is insistent on playing his buddy’s kid who is far less-gifted than Little Joey.
I’ll agree that Formula One does not give IndyCar a fair shake. Current F1 teams rely on the decades-old stigma that IndyCar is vastly inferior to F1, and they should never be considered to join their elite group. Many IndyCar champions made the move to Williams, as they were on their way down after their peak in the early to mid-1990s. Jacques Villeneuve win a championship in only his second year with Williams.
But after Renault left Formula One and went to the old rebadged Mechchrome engine. Villeneuve moved on and was replaced by CART champion Alex Zanardi. Supertec, replaced Mechachrome as an even older outdated version of rebadged Renault Mechachrome. Zanardi was ousted and blamed for the lack or results. In 2000, Williams moved to BMW, a much-better and more competitive F1 engine. They hired former CART champion Juan Montoya as their driver. Montoya had moderate success in F1, but eventually left F1 for Chip Ganassi’s NASCAR team.
Michael Andretti himself, was considered a failure in Formula One, having lasted less than one season at McLaren in 1993. He was paired with the legendary Ayrton Senna in Senna’s final year at McLaren. It did not go well. Sébastien Bourdais made the jump to F1 in 2008 at Toro Rosso, and lasted a season and a half. That’s five IndyCar champions that made the jump to F1. Villeneuve is the only one of the bunch to win a championship. Montoya won a handful of races, and the rest were considered major busts by F1 teams. They pay no attention to the fact that driving ability means nothing in F1, if you don’t have the right car.
It’s an apples & oranges comparison, if you compare IndyCar to Formula One. That doesn’t stop many IndyCar fans from having an inferiority complex, when it comes to F1. That’s why they are taking the Michael Andretti snub personally. They are so concerned about what Formula One teams, drivers and fans think about IndyCar, they are losing sight of the fact that F1’s snub may actually be good for IndyCar.
IndyCar gets to keep one of their young prized drivers. They also get to watch a resurgent team in the series, not suffer from possibly being overlooked by its owner.
It’s good that this is something that has galvanized the fan base, at a time when IndyCar needs something to unite the fans. But personally, I don’t see how Michael Andretti’s snub from Formula One is bad for IndyCar.
George Phillips
Oilpressure 
February 5, 2024 at 4:21 am
I agree that this will allow Andretti to focus more on their Indycar team which being down to three cars and with an extremely strong driver line up should reap the benefits. Otherwise Rob Edward’s might be off ( shown the door) to a new team. What I don’t agree with is that the F1 rejection was purely political. I think it was purely financial. The ten existing teams did not wish to share the cake and did not believe that Andretti joining would increase revenues to them by a minimum of a tenth or similar. I actually think that the rejection might impact new revenues out of the USA negatively. I’m not a major Andretti fan but this rejection was a shocker although just maybe a blessing in disguise. I’m wondering what they are going to do with all the recent expensive hires. Do they pay them for four years hoping to be on the grid next time. Is Cadillac feeling flush after their disastrous decision to go ev only which has cost them a packet. Tough times and decisions to be made so let’s hope the indycar team shine through and not only win a race in 24 but each driver does. My money is on Kirkwood.
February 5, 2024 at 8:03 am
While politics may have had something to do with it, I agree with Oliver that the primary reason for F1’s rejection of Andretti was financial. More specifically, it illustrates why you shouldn’t place a fixed price on something whose value is determined by the market. In this case, the Concorde Agreement says that new teams will pay an entry fee of $200 million, but the market value of being an F1 team is clearly much more than $200 million. People don’t like to sell things that are worth a lot more than $200 million for just $200 million, so if there’s a way out of having to do so, people will generally find that way out. And that’s what just happened in this case. The only thing that’s surprising to me is that anyone is surprised.
February 5, 2024 at 9:11 am
Want continuing press coverage for INDY Car…….?
Well here it is courtesy of Formula 1.
Oh, be aware not to trip over their upward posed noses.
February 5, 2024 at 9:26 am
Unless Andretti is so disillusioned by the F1 rejection that he winds down his racing teams in general, I would agree that this is not a bad thing for Indycar in general. The series is not in any different of a position than it was before the news. It is a bit of a blow to the pride of the series and its fans, as we have seen McLaren join Indycar in recent years and don’t get to return the favor, so to speak. But what value is there in that pride?
I was very disappointed for Andretti, I’m sure it is galling to complete all of the tasks on the checklist you are given and still be told “no”. Antithetical as it is to the way racing has traditionally worked… that is how fraternities and cartels operate and the professionalization of Formula 1’s organization over the last 20 years has turned them into exactly that.
February 5, 2024 at 10:39 am
I agree, this is financial. F1 hopes to move the goal posts with the Concorde money and get more than the current 200M asking price when they reconsider Andretti Cadillac in a couple years. I hope that decision ends up biting F1 square in the ass.
In terms of their current popularity in the US, it’s a fad. Remember NASCAR in the late ’90s? Competing with the NFL for popularity? Adding grandstands at all their tracks to house 100K fans? Then the fad ended, and boom…back to just stock car racing fans again. The F1 fad in the US will end too. Plus, if the Middle East ever gets bored flaunting their riches and decides to stop hosting Grands Prix, there’s another revenue source gone.
By 2028 they might be begging Michael for that 200 million. Couldn’t happen to nicer group of arrogant, greedy jerks than the F1 powers that be. One can only hope!
February 5, 2024 at 7:22 pm
F-1’s decision is all financial with some arrogance sprinkled-in. F-1 is underestimating the Andretti name in the US. I think there will be negative fallout directed toward F-1 because of this decision. Andretti Global should concentrate on the various series they are currently involved in, with particular emphasis on regaining their status within Indycar. Michael is an accomplished businessman, he can repeat his busines performance in the various series where his team already participates. I’ve been following F-1 for 41 years and I think they are now attracting the fair weather fans whose enthusiasm will quickly diminish, especially as the cost of attending a F-1 is out of reach with each ticket price increase. Secondly, the role of the driver seems to diminish with each upgrade of the car. One or two teams discovers the sweet spot each year and merely plugs in the driver. Indycar and IMSA and WEC provide more excitment, competition and entertainment for the spectator.