Andretti Autosport‘s hopes of joining Formula 1 have been boosted with a trio of team principals backing the American outfit.
While Michael Andretti, the team owner, is fully focused on F1 for now, he also wants his team to enter Formula 2 and Formula 3 to provide a logical pathway for drivers to develop and then reach the top.
The bosses in F1 may not have accepted Andretti’s proposal but there is plenty of support for the project coming from the junior series. Hitech Grand Prix, who are also hoping to enter F1, Campos Racing and Trident are all supportive of the possible entry of the successful IndyCar, IMSA and Formula E team.
“I should be nice,” Hitech GP team manager Oliver Oakes said to Formula Scout. “[Andretti] has said a lot of things in the press in the past few months and weeks.
“I would say that he’s always welcome to come and race here, but they have quite a few categories. And I think actually, as we know in F2 and F3, it’s a credit to the quality of teams and the job Bruno [Michel] has done with the championship that a team like that would like to come and race here.”
The extra push for Andretti
So far, Andretti has been up against pretty much everyone in the F1 paddock but support from the feeder series could be vital in securing their spot on the grid. Every driver on the F1 grid came through the European ladder to get to where they are with those racing in America mostly staying on the other side of the Atlantic for much of their careers.
“It’s the first [time I’ve] heard about it. But they are more than welcome,” said Campos Racing’s team principal Adrian Campos Jr. “I think they will have difficult times against us. I think that we all think the same. So, yeah, why not?”
The FIA already know of Andretti’s credentials with Jake Dennis leading the Formula E standings for the team and Timmy Hansen and Catie Munnings having won an Extreme E event in the past.
“They are more than welcome and it would be nice to have a big name in the series. And I’m sure that it would be a great challenge also for them to join us,” Trident team manager Giacomo Ricci added.
Andretti still needs the support of the F1 teams but if they can commit to the affiliated feeder series, of which the female-only F1 Academy could be critical, then the FIA will find it hard to say no.
