When I began writing this blog in January of 2012, it never crossed my mind there would be a local story related to international auto racing, but that is what is happening now.
Andretti Global announced some time ago it will locate its new racing operation headquarters in Fishers. That plan is still in place. Andretti may be best known as an IndyCar racing team, but there are other series in which Andretti competes, including the IMSA sports car series.
Andretti has been lobbying Formula One to join that prestigious, world-wide racing series. The answer came Wednesday from the Formula One powers that be. Not only was it a “no,” it was a disrespectful “no.”
The statement from Formula One basically said Andretti would not be competitive. There were other reasons provided in that statement, except the one that is most likely true…the current teams do not want to divide the massive amount of money flowing into Formula One with another team.
Andretti would be the only truly American Formula One team, but now the big shots at Formula One say 2028 would be the earliest Andretti would be able to enter the series, if at all.
Jenna Fryer of Associated Press, one of the best auto racing journalists in the world, wrote the following
“The decision outraged American fans of the series and left Michael Andretti and GM exploring potential legal avenues. F1 said it would be willing to revisit the issue if GM has an engine ready for the 2028 season, but was adamant and sharply critical in telling Andretti no for 2025 and 2026.”
Formula One is just getting popular in America, with races in Miami, Austin & Las Vegas. How North American racing fans will react to the Andretti snub remains to be seen.
Jenna Fryer quoted Mario Andretti’s reaction in a social media post:
“I’m devastated,” the elder Andretti wrote on social media. “I won’t say anything else because I can’t find any other words besides devastated.”
There was speculation that the new Fishers Andretti Global headquarters would include the Formula One operation. At least for now, it will not, but there should be plenty of land to expand Andretti’s footprint in the coming years if minds change.
In the meantime, let’s see what legal avenues the Andretti family may explore.